Shadows of Time
by Silent Game
Summary: A strange, shadowy being casts Ash, Misty, and Brock 14 years into their own futures. They simply want to find a way back, but when they accidintely cause a paradox, what will become of their present and future selves?
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Come, come, now. I wouldn't be writing pokemon fanfics if I owned Pokemon, now would I? Nope, didn't think so. ;)

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Shadows of Time

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Prologue

It was night, and the woods and hills outside of the town of Pallet were quiet and still. Nothing stirred. Even the nighttime pokemon that would usually be up and about were still and silent. No sounds came from the large house on top of a hill overlooking the town. No nighttime noises disturbed its sleeping occupants. But a shadow stirred in the trees outside, and in the largest bedroom of he mansion, a young man shivered and sat bolt upright in bed.

He glanced around the room, pushing back his unruly black hair and wiping cold sweat off his forehead. He took a deep breath to steady himself, then looked at the two others sleeping soundly in the bed. The first was a slender woman with flaming red hair clad in soft blue night clothes. The second was a small yellow ball of fur curled up at his feet. He smiled sadly and leaned down to kiss the woman gently on the head before silently swinging his legs over the edge of the bed and creeping towards the closet, trying not to wake the others up. He felt a paw touch the back of his leg.

"Pikapi?"

The man glanced down at the small yellow rodent. "Pikachu, shh…" he whispered, then sighed as the woman sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes and looking at him curiously.

"Is something the matter?" she asked sleepily. "It's two in the morning," she added, pointing at the clock on the night stand.

"Everything's fine. I was just-" he broke of as a shadow flashed past the window, making a rushing sound as it went. The woman's eyes widened. "Oh no. Not now. Why does it have to be now?" She sounded like she might cry.

"We knew it would be back someday. You and Pikachu don't have to come. It's me it wants, after all. You can-"

Again he was interrupted. "If you think for one moment I would leave you now, you're seriously wrong. I'm going to follow you into this mess, just like I always have!"

"Pikachu!" _That's right!_

"Toge!" _Yeah!_

The woman had begun to get dressed when she turned in surprise. "No, Togetic! You have to stay here."

"Toge toge tic, togetic, toge to toge tic." _If you're going, and Daddy's going, and Pikachu's going, I'm going._

The man looked at them all, smiling sadly. He would have liked to try to convince them to stay behind, but he knew it would be a futile attempt and a waste of time. "All right." He pulled on a pair of loose fitting black pants and slipped jacket on over his black T-shirt. He buckled a poke-belt around his waste, and she did the same. Last of all, from the top shelf he took a battered red and white hat. He held it for a short while, looking at it, lost in memories. "So this is how it ends," he muttered quietly before placing the hat on his head.

"What are you going to do?" the woman asked, also looking at the hat.

"I intend to go down fighting!" He twisted the hat around backwards, giving her a rueful grin. She tried to return the smile.

"I'm with you, always."

"Pika pika!" _Me too!_

"Thanks, guys," he said, his amber eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

An ominous creaking came from above. "To late to go meet it! It's here!" he cried.

"The children! We have to get them out!"

"Right, Espeon! I choose you!" He picked up a poke-ball that was not one of the six fastened to his belt and tossed it. The lavender psychic pokemon came out. "Espe?" it asked.

"Espeon," he instructed urgently, "I need you to get the kids out of here right away. Use teleport. Take them to one of their 'uncle's' houses right away."

There was a crash from above.

"Hurry!"

"Spe on!" _Right Away!_ The pokemon dashed out of the room, pausing only for a moment to shoot one last worried look in its beloved trainer's direction before rounding a corner in the hallway and disappearing from sight. Not a moment to soon. There was another crash and a groaning sound, and the two trainers and their pokemon just had time to jump out of the way before the roof caved in and one of the walls came crashing down.

***

Some ways away, in a house in Pewter City, another couple was just arriving home, pulling their car up the driveway of the famous Pewter Breeding Center and into the garage of the house situated behind it. The driver, a tall man with dark hair, got out first, followed shortly by a woman with long, blue hair. She clasped his hand as they made their way up the stone path. "I never thought we would be getting back from that breeder's convention so late," she whispered.

He nodded. "If I had known it would go on for so long, and then we wouldn't be able to get the car started on top of it all, I would have just kept our hotel room for another night." He fumbled with the keys in the dark. She laughed gently.

"Oh here, let me," she said smilingly, taking the house keys from him. "It's a good thing that trainer and his Raichu came along to jump start the engine, of we'd still be in that parking lot." The lock clicked, and she turned the handle.

"No we wouldn't. We could have ridden Onix back."

"Well, why didn't you mention that back there?" Even in the dark, she could tell he was blushing. They both laughed quietly, and the woman swung the door opened. They were immediately greeted by a worried looking furry, lavender face.

"Espeon! Es pe, speon!"

"Wha- What are you doing here?" The Espeon yapped again and grabbed the man by his pant leg, pulling him into the house. The woman followed, turning on the lights. The Espeon brought them to their sitting room, where their Ninetails relaxed on the floor, looking at them sleepily. "I don't see what-" he began, then looked closer. Two small children were sleeping, wrapped and pillowed by the many soft, white tails. He stared at them. The older, who looked to be about seven, was a girl with soft black hair and skin tanned from much time in the sun. The other, a boy of about four, had a mop of red hair and a mass of freckles across his nose and cheeks. Both of his arms were wrapped tightly around one of the tails.

"But, what are they doing here?" he asked his wife. She didn't answer, and went into the next room.

"There's a message for us on the answering machine," she called softly. After another glance at the children, he hurried towards the phone. What had started as confusion and a vague worry was now steadily climbing towards panic. With a trembling finger he reached out and pressed the "play message" button.

The video screen came on. At first, there was only static. Then a face appeared; the face of his best friend. His face and clothes were covered in dust and grime, his shirt collar was torn, and there was a long scratch running down from his forehead, across his cheek, almost to his neck. He glanced over his shoulder and called out something about it being an answering machine. It was hard to hear him over a multitude of background sounds. He shoved his black hair back from his face, and the man watching the screen could see that his friend's hand came away red. He began to speak, and the man had to strain to hear his words over the static and sounds of crashes and bangs coming over the line.

"Well, I guess you're not there right now. Maybe …. just as well. I sent Espeon …. with the kids. …. try to hold out as long as we can, but …. no hope, really…. I guess …. this …. good bye. You'll look after the kids, right? You always …. after us …. best friend I could have had. We'll miss …. Tell the kids … love them always. I only wish-" He was cut off by a shrill scream heard in the background. "I'm coming!" he cried, and turned and ran, not bothering to hang up the phone and stop the message from recording. The two horrified watchers witnessed his back retreating towards a broken and scorched wall before there was another crash, and the screen flickered and went blank.

The man and woman stood stunned, staring at the black screen. "I have to go," The man finally managed to choke out.

"Be careful," the woman murmured, placing the keys in his trembling hand.

"It's not me who's in danger," he replied, then kissed her on the head and strode out the door.

As the man drove down route 2 heading for Pallet Town he knew he was speeding, but he didn't care. If an Officer Jenny tried to stop him, he would out run her. If he had to get a ticket or go to jail for it afterwards, fine. Some things were more important than Officer Jennies. He quickly broke off that line of thought and glanced at the road, making sure he knew where he was going. Of course he did. He'd traveled this road many times, both by car and on foot. He wasn't going to loose his way now. His friend, on the other hand… A brief smile flashed across his face, but was swiftly replaced by deeper worry. Why was it taking so long to get there? The lights of Viridian City twinkled before him, and he pushed his foot down harder on the gas.

He raced trough Viridian City as if in a dream. Or a nightmare. Even in this busy city, the streets were mostly deserted at this time of night. The street lamps cast eerie shadows on the sidewalks, and the few solitary windows that were lighted seemed only to make the darkened windows darker. It all streaked by the car window in a flash.

It was near the outskirts of Pallet that the car stopped. The driver had just dared to hope that he might get there in time, when the engine made a coughing noise, sputtered, popped, and died. The car rolled to a stop. "No!" he shouted. "No! NO! **NO!**" He cursed and kicked at the gas pedal. Nothing happened. With a strangled cry he shoved the door opened, prepared to run the rest of the way, but suddenly he stopped, as if an invisible hand had snagged the back of his shirt. His recent conversation with his wife came to his mind, and he pulled a Poke Ball off of his belt. "Onix, go!" With a flash of light, the giant rock-snake pokemon appeared. The man leaped on its back and the two of them continued on their way, leaving the car sitting in the middle of the road, one door open and headlights on.

When he finally reached the house, he saw with a sinking heart that it was in shambles. Parts of the roof were missing, windows were broken, walls were caving in. Water sputtered out of broken pipes and over the yard in a hissing stream. A closer look revealed scorch marks on patches of grass and on some of the walls. Debris littered the area, making it look as if a tornado had blown through. He called out, but there was no answer.

Some dark sense told him to look up. With a feeling of foreboding, he let fate's hand pull his eyes towards the sky, only to see shadows. Shadows not made of clouds, but thick and tangible, reaching out to the east, grasping for something. The man let his eyes follow the flowing, shadowy fingers and saw what looked very much like a Dragonair. A Dragonair with a figure seated on its back, and a Charizard, also bearing a passenger, flying around it in protective circles. The man stood, trying desperately to think of a way to help. But even as he watched, horrified, there was a blast of flame, a beam of ice, a bolt of lightning, and the shadow's groping fingers closed over his airborne friends.

For a long while he stood, petrified, unable to move or think, only watch. For some time, he fancied he could still see bursts of energy shining through from the heart of the shadow. Then for a moment, it appeared to be a normal storm cloud, pulsing with electricity. And he watched, helpless, as a breath of wind stirred, and the shadow faded away, leaving only the stars and the clear blackness of space behind. They were gone.

The man dropped to his knees, tears wet on his cheeks. This could never have been meant to happen. The night was as still and quiet as it had been when it began. No gust of wind. No creatures of the night. No soft and peaceful noises of people sleeping. Nothing seemed changed, save for the wreckage that had once been a home, and the lives of scores of people and pokemon. Lives that would never be the same.

***

Notes: Well, there it is, the prologue to my very first fanfic ever! I have just recently begun to explore the fascinating world of fan fiction, and I look foreword to many more exploits in its realm. Much more to come in the near future. I hope everyone who reads this can find it in their hearts to send me reviews saying… erm… whatever they like. J Now, about the story itself.

I actually have a good reason for not mentioning anyone's name here, which ought to become clear in the next chapter. I think, in the long run, it may help things be a bit less confusing than they undoubtedly will be. Anyhow, I would think most people would have figured out who's who by now. (If you haven't, well, you'll just have to wait, although I would suggest while you're waiting, you go watch a couple episodes of Pokemon to remind yourself who the main characters are.)

I don't know if Espeons can teleport, or even if Ash has, or ever will have, an Espeon. (Whoops, just gave part of it away there.) I gave Misty a Dragonair (Well, there I go again) because she likes them, and let it fly because I needed it up in the air. Hmm, what else. I guess I just paired Brock up with Susie (Ack, well, it's all out now. Oh well. That'll teach you to be careful reading my notes if you don't want any glaringly obvious secrets spoiled) because I felt like it, and because I couldn't think of anyone better for him to be with off the top of my head.

Oh, one last thing. Please attribute any errors to the fact that I was writing this at about the same time of night this prologue is taking place, so I might not be exactly all there (or here, or wherever it is I ought to be.) Well, until next time. Please review. J 

_Wydinel Sheergale_

UDW


	2. Of Maps, Carrots, and Trees

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, or anything related to it. Except maybe this disclaimer. I don't know. Do I own this disclaimer? If I don't own this disclaimer than who does? Aaaarrrgg! So confusing.

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Chapter One:

Of Maps, Carrots, and Trees

The sunlight lancing through the tree tops created soft tapestries of shadows on the leaf covered forest floor. The three travelers walking slowly through the woods paid scant attention to the play of light and shadow under their feet and over their faces. They had other things on their minds, such as when the next meal was going to be. Though they were walking in silence at the moment, the black hared boy striding out in frond had a feeling the peaceful quiet would not last much longer.

He was most definitely becoming quite hungry himself, and he was fairly sure his two companions (three companions, he reminded himself with a smile, felling the electric mouse perched on his shoulder move to his head to get a better view,) must be getting hungry as well. Not that this was really a problem by it self. What worried the young trainer was that discussions of food would very likely lead to talks of where they should stop to eat, which would bring up the question of where they were going to spend the night. That, of course, would lead his friends to thinking of the next town and warm bed they would arrive at and wondering when they would get there. They would ask him, as he was supposedly leading the way, and then he would be in trouble. He hadn't the faintest idea of where they were, or which direction they were headed in. But, as nobody else seemed to have noticed this yet, he was quite content to delay the inevitable as long as possible.

"Hey Ash," said his read-headed companion, coming up to walk next to him, "when are we going to stop for lunch? We've been walking for hours, and you can't tell me you're not hungry!"

He groaned inwardly. Here it came. "I don't know, Misty. Actually, I wasn't all that-" his stomach gave an outraged rumble, "hungry."

She looked at him with eyebrows raised.

"But," he added hastily, "If you're all _really_ hungry, I guess we can stop right here."

Misty glanced over her shoulder. "What do you think, Brock? Should we stop for lunch?" The second boy also came to walk next to them.

"Well, that wouldn't normally be a problem, but at the moment, we're running a bit low on supplies."

This time, Ash groaned out loud.

"Pika?" asked Pikachu, worriedly.

"Cheer up, Ash!" said Brock with a grin. "This morning we were only about half a day away from Viridian City, and with this short cut of yours, we should be there any minute!"

"Oh, um, right." He stopped walking and stared at his shoes. This wasn't going well at all. He had expected to be yelled at, but he hadn't known their supplies were low. Now he was going to get yelled at _and _still be hungry afterwards. He could feel Misty's eyes hard on the back of his head.

"You do know where we are, don't you?"

Ash concentrated hard on trying to touch the tips of his index fingers together. "Er, sort of."

"Sort of?" Her voice rose dangerously.

"Well, we're in a forest, standing my a big oak tree, and there're some pine trees over there, and on the other side there's that funny shaped rock we just passed again. You can recognize it because form one site, it looks like a mushroom, but from the other side, if you turn your head sideways, it almost looks kind of like a really deformed Sunflora!" Well, so much for trying to keep acting as if he knew where they were going. What on Earth had made him say that?

"Just how many times have we passed this rock, Ash?" Brock asked, running his fingers through his spiky dark hair.

"I not quite sure. I guess I've lost count." Ash chanced a glance at his friends. Misty looked like she was trying hard not to get angry, and even Brock and Pikachu looked annoyed. At least Togepi didn't seem upset, but then, Togepi was asleep in Misty's back pack, so he couldn't be sure.

"You've got us lost again," Misty moaned, and sat down in the middle of the gravely path, right where she stood. "I'm too hungry to fight with you right now," she said in answer to Ash's questioning look, "but you'd better hope we find our way out of here soon, or else you're in big trouble."

Well, if she didn't feel like arguing, he certainly didn't. He sat down on the path next to her, grinning nervously. She laughed. "Oh Ash, the day you don't get us lost will probably be the same day you get me a bike."

"Hey! I go the right way sometimes." Pikachu hopped off of Ash's head into his lap. "If it's important. And how many times have I told you, I'll pay you back for your bike!"

"Well-"

"Er, guys," Brock interrupted, "we can eat what food we have left, presuming we'll find our way out of here soon, but are we just going to eat it right here in the middle of the path?"

The two teens seated on the path glanced at each other, then grinned up at Brock. "Well," Ash began, "I may not know exactly where we are, but we are on a path…"

"And if we're lost on a path," Misty finished, "we have a much better chance of finding our way than if we're lost in the middle of the woods."

"Ok, well, that's fine with me," said Brock, as he too sat down on the path and began unloading the last of their food.

The three teens and their pokemon were about midway through their meal (a rather pitiful supply of bread, some instant noodles, a few stale cookies, and one carrot) when they were interrupted by a voice from the trees in front of them.

"Did someone say trouble?"

Ash looked up, bewildered. "Huh?"

A man, a woman and a Meowth jumped out of the woods onto the path. Misty sighed, recognizing them. "Aren't you guys a little late? It's been nearly fifteen minutes sense I told Ash he would be in trouble."

The blue hared man grinned at them maliciously. "It just took us a little longer than expected to get our new secret weapon ready. Boy, are you twerps in for a surprise! Tell 'em, Jess."

"Humph," muttered Jessie, tossing her long, red hair. "Team Rocket is never late, nor is it early. It arrives precisely when it means to."

"Hey, neat line," said Meowth, ignoring the confused looks Ash, Misty and Brock were exchanging. "It sounds kind of familiar, though…"

"Hey, unless you guys happen to have some food on you, would you mind getting lost?"

"Chu!" Ash and Pikachu were both shooting death glares at the offending threesome.

"We already are lost, 'cause we were following you," piped up James.

"But that's not going to keep us from getting Pikachu!" Jessie finished. "Meowth, bring out the secret weapon!"

"My pleasure!" The cat like pokemon pulled out what looked like a small remote control and prepared to press the large red button in the middle, but he hesitated. "Uh oh, we forgot to sat the motto." He looked worriedly up at his two fellow Rockets.

"We could just try to snatch Pikachu without saying the motto," said Jessie, but the red head did not sound very enthusiastic. Meowth moved his finger to push the button, but again hesitated.

"It just doesn't feel right," James moaned.

"You're right," sighed Jessie. "We have to say it. Prepare for trouble!"

"Make it double!"

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To- Hey! Where'd the twerps go?"

"You idiots!" cried Meowth. "They're gettin' away!"

Sure enough, Ash Misty and Brock were almost out of sight, running down the path and away from Team Rocket at top speed. "No, after them!" ordered Jessie, and the three hapless members of Team Rocket took off in their wake.

***

Ash, Misty, and Brock had vacated the scene the moment Team Rocket had turned their attention away from them. For his part, Ash had little doubt that had they stayed to fight they would have sent Team Rocket blasting off yet again. However, his pokemon were tired from an earlier battle, and although he was vaguely curious what ridiculous new contraption Jessie, James, and Meowth had come up with this time, he did not want to risk Pikachu to find out. So they had bolted, gaining quite a considerable head start.

He chanced a glance behind him. Team Rocket apparently had finally noticed they were gone and were chasing after them, and, though he hated to admit it, with their longer legs and presumably full stomachs, were gaining on them. He was painfully aware of the hard ground crashing against his feet and the air rushing in an attempt to fill his lungs. They couldn't keep running like this forever.

"I don't know … if we … can keep this up," Misty panted, echoing Ash's own thoughts.

Brock nodded in agreement. "If we leave the path … head into the forest … maybe we can loose them." _And ourselves. _The unspoken words hung in the air. Well, nothing else for it, he though. He twisted his hat around backwards so as to have a clearer view of where he was going, _or maybe just for effect,_ he thought with a grin, made sure Pikachu was clinging tightly to his shoulder, and turned sharply to the left, plunging into the thick underbrush of the forest. Misty and Brock followed.

Ash almost immediately regretted the decision. They would get lost. Even more lost than they had already been. At least before they had been lost on a path. Who knew how long it would take them to find another. They still didn't dare slow down any more than they had to. The lighting was such that it was weary difficult to distinguish between what was solid and what was just shadow. Several times he had managed to fling his arms up just in time to shield his eyes from an oncoming branch. His arms, of course, took the blows instead, and were now a bloody mess.

Ash looked behind him to make sure the others were keeping up. They were struggling on gamely, but he could see that her arms, which were wrapped protectively around Togepi, were in not much better shape than his own. He supposed Brock's were in the same state.

"Pika!" The warning came just in time. He had been just about to walk headlong into rather large pine tree, fallen diagonally across their path. As it was, he probably would have tripped over it anyway, had Brock not caught his elbow from behind to steady him. Ash breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Brock."

"Do you think we've lost them?" asked Misty. Before either of the boys could answer, a string of angry curses came from somewhere to their far right.

"There's your answer," said Brock wryly. "At least there not having any easier time of this than we are. Let's keep going." Wearily, they skirted the fallen tree and continued on their way, still as fast as they could make their legs carry them, but trying to pay a bit more attention to obstacles in front of them.

Ash led them on a roundabout course, changing direction every few yards, doubling back the way they came, then dashing off in a new direction. He hadn't the faintest idea where the path lay. To make matters even worse, in order to facilitate their hasty departure, necessity had dictated that they leave the food they had been preparing to eat behind. To Ash, it seemed almost a crime to leave it back there, spread out over the path, seemingly unwanted. He was _hungry._ Hungry, _hungry, **hungry!**_

He stomped on ahead, angrily. Why did Team Rocket always have to get in the way of everything? He pulled a sapling branch out of his way and let it snap back. Especially meals. There ought to be some unbreakable rule against Team Rocket trying to steal your pokemon just when you were about to start eating.

"Pikapi, pi pikachu."

Ash broke off his stream of thought. "What?"

A girl's voice came from behind him. "Ash, wait up."

The dark hared boy turned around. Misty had sat down on a rock and was looking at him pleadingly.

"Why did we stop?" he asked, walking back to join his companions.

"I think we've finally lost them," said Brock, who was taking off his backpack and sitting down on the rock beside Misty. "I haven't heard anything from behind us for a long time now."

Ash listened. He was right. It was quiet, except for a distant rumbling of thunder. Standing still, he finally realized how tired he was. They had been walking all morning, then running for who knew how long, all on empty stomachs. His legs were shaking, but he didn't feel like sitting down. "Shouldn't we at least find a better place to stop for a while?" he asked with a glance upwards.

Brock and Misty followed his gaze to the now grey sky. Sometime during their mad dash, the clouds must have decided to come in and swallow up the sunny day they had awoken to.

Misty stood up. "All right. Togepi doesn't want to get all wet. Do you?" she asked the egg-pokemon, who waved her arms and _pi-pi-piiii_-ed happily.

"Okay," Brock agreed, also rising. "We'll look for somewhere a bit more sheltered, but I don't know what we're going to find." Now walking instead of running, the three friends again set off through the forest.

***

When they found the cave, they couldn't believe their luck. Perhaps something was finally going to go right that day. Of course they were cautious. The cave appeared to be situated inside what was really a large pile of rock. They walked all the way around the mound, to make sure that it was just that: a mound. That there was no way the little cave could go back farther than it appeared to. All looked well, and to further add to their luck, from behind the rocks Brock thought he could see what looked like fruit trees. Once they got settled in the cave, perhaps they would even be able to get something to eat. In good spirits, they returned to the cave entrance.

Of course, Misty wondered what a cave, even a small one, was doing in the middle of the Viridian forest. Bat as Ash reminded them, wasn't there a saying about never looking a gift rapidash in the mouth, whatever exactly that meant? So naturally, the three friends went inside, glad they would be sheltered from the rain, should it come. Ash sat and leaned against a wall, playing happily with Pikachu. Misty sat nearby, Togepi curled up contentedly in her backpack, and Brock contemplated looking for some food.

None of the three friends, or even their pokemon, paid any attention to the curious play of the light in the shadowed enclosure, or the way the clouds seemed to darken as they entered the little cave. None of them saw how fingers of shadow seemed to crawl around the walls of the cave. But they did, heeded or not. And if the shadows creeping about the vaulted ceiling could have laughed, they would have

Notes: Well, I'm so sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. I can explain (sort of). I had this chapter almost done and ready to go just a day or so after I had the Prologue up. I was taking a little break before finishing it up and was flipping channels on TV, when I happened across Kurt Wagner of X-men: Evolution. Well, ever sense then, I've been trying to find out all I can about X-men: Evo, and the little Nightcrawler in particular. Horrible excuse, I know, but now that I have at least somewhat come to grips with my recently acquired fuzzy blue elf obsession, I can turn my attention back to this fic, where it belongs.

I would like to extend a special thanks to my four reviewers, and promise you that I fully intend to finish this. I actually know where I am going with it, and have a pretty good idea of how I'm going to get there. Please keep the reviews coming. It means a lot to me to know somebody is reading this, regardless of what they think about it. Oh, and I certainly don't mind if people review more than once. : )

I guess there was a slight change of tone between this and the prologue, but we're just getting started. Everything will be explained. Oh, I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with Team Rocket. I may bring them back later if people want me to. The next chapter should be up sooner than this one was. Until then. : )

__

Wydinel Sheergale

UDW


	3. The Cave

Disclaimer: Pokemon still doesn't belong to me. Can you believe it? I do, however, own a rather nice set of never before used shoulder pads. But that's something else.

**__**

Chapter Two:

The Cave

"Right," said Brock, standing and looking down at Ash and Misty, "I'm going to go see if I can find something for us to eat." Ash beamed up at him. "One of you two," he continued, "should stay and watch our thing and the other should go find some firewood." The younger boy's face fell. They had just sat down. Brock grinned at him, then, grabbing a bag to carry his spoils, turned and strode out of the cave.

Misty stood and walked to the cave's entrance. She looked up at the heavily leaden sky. "It's going to start raining any minute. If we want our firewood to be any good, you should go get some right away." She paused, gave him a brief moment to contradict her, then pressed on before he had a chance to respond. "After all, you're the one who got us lost out her." She said jokingly. Still no answer.

She turned around, and a small smile spread across her face. Both of Ash's arms were wrapped around a small, flat rock which he was using as a pillow. His hat was slipping sideways over his face, and one of his legs was curled almost up to his chest. He had fallen asleep.

Still smiling, Misty walked over and knelt next to him. She carefully took off his hat and sat it nearby. One of his feet twitched slightly, but he did not wake up. With a gentle hand, she brushed his thick, black hair away from his eyes.

"Pika?" came a little voice from her elbow. Misty jumped, then saw Pikachu watching her curiously.

She held a finger to her lips. "Shh, don't wake him up." She turned back to Ash, and said in a whisper, "_I'll_ go get the firewood." She gave his head a last, gentle stroke then rose and headed towards the cave entrance. "Do you want to come, Pikachu?"

Pikachu glanced between his sleeping trainer and Misty, an amused expression on his face. Well, Pikapi was asleep, and perhaps if he went with Pikachupi he could find out what that had been about. With a nod and a "Pi," he followed Misty.

Misty walked out of the cave, removing Togepi from her backpack. Pikachu followed her, and the two Pokemon began walking into the trees, having what sounded to be an earnest conversation. Misty glanced over her shoulder at the cave entrance. She could still see Ash curled up amongst the rocks. What had just happened? She shook her head in exasperation and followed the pokemon, eyes scanning the forest floor for dry firewood.

***

Ash opened one eye a crack and stared after Misty's retreating figure, a rather stunned expression playing across his face. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting, but whatever it was, it hadn't been _that_.

He felt slightly guilty. He had been asleep at first, but he had woken when Misty had knelt beside him. He hadn't intended to pretend to be asleep, but when he felt her hands in his hair, he hadn't dared open his eyes, and after she had volunteered to get the fire wood, he still hadn't dared, knowing she would either be furious or furiously embarrassed if she knew he had been awake all that time. So he had kept still and quiet.

He sat up, rubbing the back of his neck thoughtfully. Maybe he should have just agreed to get the firewood himself in the first place. Or maybe he should have opened his eyes as soon as he had woken up. Why hadn't he? Well, he answered himself, partly because you were afraid of getting yelled at, partly because you were curious and wanted to see what she would do next, and partly because you just didn't want her to stop.

He sight and shook his head. Thinking about it was just too confusing. He still felt guilty, though. Well, he might as well do something useful while he was waiting for the others to get back.

The boy crawled over to his backpack and began burrowing. Clothes. Rubber gloves. Underwear. Clothesline. Pajamas. His- _why did he even have that_?! "Ha! Found it!" he cried, emerging and triumphantly holding aloft a flashlight. Ash grinned. He could now explore their home for the night thoroughly. Not that there seemed to be much to explore, but you never knew. Maybe there would even be a pokemon hidden in one of the shadowy corners near the back.

His explorations were proving to be not nearly as entertaining as he has hoped. It had taken him not quite two minutes to follow the walls of the cave nearly all the way around. He had left his hat by the cave wall where Misty had set it as a marker, so he could be sure he went all the way around and didn't miss anything. He needn't have bothered. There was nothing to miss. He had even crawled for a little while, looking for any hidden tunnels near the ground. Nothing.

Thunder rumbled outside. Now he was just getting board. He hoped Misty, Brock, and Pikachu would be back soon. Preferably with food. Thunder again, then the rain started. Not heavy yet just a few drops. He could hear them spattering on the rocks outside. Bother exploring. Turning off his flashlight, which hadn't really been needed any way, he began to stride briskly back towards his hat. When he experienced the unfortunately familiar sensation of the ground giving way beneath him.

This "pit," however, was really quite different from Team Rocket's pits. Team Rocket's pits broke open, dropped you a few yards, and left you there. This pit caved in and slid you down a very steep and gravely incline that slid with you. And it seemed to keep going for a very long time.

Ash cried out when he felt the ground collapsing beneath him and grabbed for the edge, which broke off and came rolling down with him as soon as his fingers closed over it. He scrabbled desperately, trying to find a hold somewhere. He kicked his feet into the slope beneath him, trying to find some purchase. Nothing worked. He was caught in a miniature rock slide, and the surface beneath his stomach was moving down just as fast as he was. He struggled, attempting an odd, upward swimming motion, but that only got more dirt in his face and small rocks down the back of his shirt.

He seemed to slide like that for a very long time before the pit finally decided to drop him. Along with all the dirt and gravel that had been accompanying him, he shot out over what seemed to be a ledge of solid rock and fell. He had had just enough time to wonder how far he was going to fall like this, when he hit the ground. Hard.

For a while, Ash simply lay there, assuring himself that he was no longer falling and that all of his body parts were still attached. He took another moment to be grateful that he wasn't completely buried. He wasn't even half buried. All right. He supposed the first thing he should do was to have a look around. He opened his eyes. It was pitch black. Ok, first thing, see if he could find his flashlight.

The boy pushed himself into a sitting position, and immediately lay back down. Change of plans. First thing: wait for his head to stop pounding and his stomach to settle back into its usual location before the small amount of food he had managed to get down that day came back up.

After a few minutes, he decided to try sitting again, and eventually managed it. Just about everything hurt, and his left arm didn't seem to be working quite right. He supposed he had landed on it. Nevertheless, he brushed as much of the dirt and gravel off of himself as he could and, with a groan, pushed himself to his knees. Light. He needed light, so he could see how far he had fallen and if it was possible to climb back up. He had dropped his flashlight when the ground had given way, so…

He put his hand to his belt, reaching for Charizard's poke-ball, and felt nothing. He began to feel a small seed of panic taking root in the depths of his stomach. Where were his poke-balls? Where was his poke-belt? Even though he knew it was useless, and his right shoulder protested strongly, he continued to search his waist with both hands, as if his belt and its contents would suddenly reappear. It was no use.

He managed to calm down enough to register the fact that most of his clothes seemed to be torn and slightly damp in places, and to realize that his belt must have come off some time during the long slide down. Still on his knees, he groped around on the ground, trying to find his poke-balls by feel.

"Come on," he said aloud. They had to be around somewhere. "_Come on!_" It was no use. He wouldn't be able to find them without light, or with out help. He was now trying not to panic. Misty and Brock should be back soon, and Pikachu would be with them. They'd notice he was gone, see the hole in the ground, and come looking for him. They would have flashlights, and Pikachu could use flash, and they could find his Pokemon and get out of there.

Ash began to clam down. Yes, that was what would happen, and while he was waiting, he could keep looking by feel, maybe try to figure out exactly what kind of pit he had fallen into and- His train of thought broke off, and he stared into the blackness. He could swear it looked a bit lighter over to his left. Or maybe less black was a better term. He squinted hard, and thought he could almost see what looked like the walls of a tunnel of some kind. Maybe there was another way out, and he wouldn't have to wait. He could go get help right away.

He stood anything was better than just waiting around here. He took off his vest and laid it on the ground in what he hoped resembled the shape of an arrow pointing the way he was going to go, in case the others came looking for him.

After a few moments of groping, he found one of the stone walls of the pit and paced his hand on it. "Hang on, guys," he said to his missing Pokemon. "I'll come back and get you as soon as I find a way out of here." Then he set off, heading to what he was now fairly sure was actually light of some kind and not just a trick of the eyes, one hand brushing the wall, and trying not to look as nervous as he felt, even though there was no one to see.

The trip down the strange tunnel was not at all pleasant. On the plus side, it was wide and tall enough for him to walk upright, and as far as he could tell, did not branch off. On the other hand, it was damp and smelled like a shower that needed cleaning, the walls and ground were very rough, and Ash kept tripping and falling on very uncomfortable pieces of rock.

But there _was_ light ahead, although Ash was becoming less and less sure it was daylight. It had an odd, flickering quality to it. Not reddish like the light of a fire though. More blue, like-

__

Splash!

The passage lit up with a wavering green light, and Ash was acutely aware of the water soaking into his sneakers and through his socks. He pulled his foot back and looked around, fascinated. The tunnel had opened out into a small cavern. The strange light was coming from the lake he had just stepped into. So much for another way out.

It was eerie. He supposed he should just turn and head back, but the flickering light coming from the phosphorescent lake intrigued him. He could see that the lake was not really that big. It only filled about a quarter of the cavern. The light of the lake was slowly dimming to a dull, green glow. He supposed he must have stirred it up when he stepped in it. Going back definitely looked like a good idea.

He turned around, then swallowed nervously. The passage he had come through should have at least been somewhat illuminated by the dimming light of the lake. Instead, it seemed to be darker than it had been before his toe had touched the water. A creeping, seething, tangible sort of dark. He began edging backwards, around the rim of the lake. The shadows crept out of the passage after him.

Now he was getting scared. It was just a trick of the light. It had to be. The light from the lake had almost completely faded. He kicked a stone into the lake, thinking any light was better than none. He immediately wished he hadn't. The water lit up again, a bright blue-green. The shadows on the ceiling and walls appeared to be crawling.

__

"Ash…" Ash jumped, breathing hard.

"Who… Who's there?" _"Ash… Intruder…"_

The shadows from the passage rushed out along the walls, merging with those on the ceiling. _Intruder…_ The words sounded more like an echo than a real voice.

"I didn't mean to. I was just trying to find a way out," he called, not knowing to who or what he was speaking.

__

"We have been waiting for an intruder such as yourself for a long time, Ash. Do not think we will let you go now. Not after you broke the earth and came down to us. Not after we have worked so hard to lure you to us."

"It was an accident. I fell down by accident."

__

Yet it was your weight that broke the ground. We spent many years weakening it to be sure you would. Now we have you here, and we will take you.

Ash didn't even bother asking what that meant. He had to get out of here. _Now._ "Oh yeah?" He tried to keep the fear out of his voice, make it sound angry instead. "Well, you're not going to get me without a fight!" He made a dash for the tunnel, not thinking what he would do when he got back to where he started. He would do whatever he had to.

A barrier of shadow sprang up to block his way, looking thick enough to be tangible. He skidded to a halt. He didn't know if he could pass through it or not, but some instinct told him that he did not want to try. Did not want to even touch it, whatever it was.

The little bits of shadow scurried faster along the ceiling, moving closer together. Ash could have sworn he heard them laughing. "What are you and what do want me for? Come out!" He had to get out, get his pokemon, and warn Misty and Brock to stay away.

__

"Is that really what you want? Very well."

Ash watched in fascinated horror as the shadows cast by the light of the lake seemed to coalesce, solidify, joining into an almost recognizable shape, and slide through the air towards him. His last thought before it surrounded him was a hope that his friends would escape this fate.

Notes: Yet again, apologies for the long wait between chapters. I don't even have an excuse this time, other than the fact that real life exists. Humf.

Ok, now a little warning. Ash is my favorite character. Unfortunately, I'm one of those authors who makes lots of horrible stuff happen to her favorite characters, so Ash, much as I love him, will probably not be having a very good time. I'll feel guilty about it afterwards, and have to think of some way to make it up to him.

Now, to my reviewers. Thank you so much, all of you! I always read every single review I get, and it really makes my day. I've had several requests for AAMRN, and to those of you who asked, don't worry. I have plans. :) Also, both the kids and Team Rocket will show up again later.

About Ash's pokemon. I haven't quite decided what team of pokemon I want Ash to have with him. Pikachu, of course. He has Charizard (let's just say Charizard has come back by this time) and Bulbasaur (same with him,) but I haven't been able to decide on the last three.

That's about it. Next chapter is on it's way, and while you're waiting, please review this one. I can never get too many reviews. :)

__

Wydinel Sheergale

UDW


	4. Bargaining

Disclaimer: Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya; you killed my father… Oh, woops, wrong script. I'm afraid I still do not own Pokemon, although my sister owns quite a lot of the videos…

****

Chapter Three:

Bargaining

"Ha! Found another one!" Misty held the stick she had just lifted off the ground aloft, then added it to the growing pile in her arms. Pikachu and Togepi watched her curiously. The fiery red head didn't usually get excited about gathering firewood. In fact, she usually objected to it strongly. The two pokemon were rather confused by this, and were seriously hoping that this good mood wouldn't vanish as suddenly as it had come up.

For her part, Misty really didn't know why she was having such a good time doing the chore she usually detested. She could think of no real reason she should be so happy right now, and quite a few reasons why she shouldn't. Oh well.

As if in answer to her thoughts, a few drops of rain splattered on her upturned face and the bundle of wood in her arms. She glanced up at the clouded sky. "We'd better get back," she said to the pokemon. "I think we have enough for one night."

"Pika," agreed Pikachu. Misty knelt to let Togepi climb up on top of the pile of wood, then, leaning over to shield both from the drizzling rain, set off back towards the cave at a brisk walk with Pikachu scampering at her heels.

As they came closer to the cave, the rain came down harder. Misty hoped she could get inside before the wood was completely soaked. If it was, she could make Ash go get some more. No, that wouldn't do any good. All the wood he brought back would be wet as well. Plus, she didn't particularly want to make him go out in the rain looking for wood while she and Brock waited dry in the cave. That would be mean.

Thunder crashed. She increased her pace to a jog, and as she came closer saw Brock dashing around from the other side of the mound, bag of fruit held over his head. The rain came down harder. The two dashed into the shelter of the cave, narrowly avoiding a collision.

"Ash, we're back, wake up!" Misty called, allowing Togepi to hop down off the wood before she dropped it in heap on the floor. Receiving no response, she added, "Food!"

Pikachu gazed around the nearly empty cave. "Pikapi? Pi pi, pikachu?"

Brock set down the bag of fruit. "Ash?" Then to Misty and Pikachu, "I don't think he's in here."

"That's ridiculous! He was asleep, right over there!" She pointed to where the boy's hat lay on the ground, then gasped. "Brock, look!"

Pikachu and the older boy both turned to look where she was pointing.

"Pika!"

"Oh no!"

All ran to the edge of the gaping hole that had opened in the ground and peered down. A steep, gravely slope ran down for a ways, then disappeared into darkness. All of them had probably spent more time at the bottom of pits than the average person, but something about this one struck Misty as ominous.

"Ash!" she called. "Ash? Are you down there?"

"Pikapi? Chu, pi pikachu?"

Only silence answered them. The three exchanged worried glances.

"Well, come on!" shouted Misty, grabbing her own flashlight and lowering herself into the hole.

"Hey, be careful," cried Brock. He hastily lashed a coil of rope around a jutting stone near the hole's gaping mouth. "Here," he said, handing the other end to the girl. "Tie this around your waist."

Misty firmly wedged her shoulder firmly against the gritty roof of the steep tunnel, wincing slightly as the cold stone came in contact with her bare skin. As best as she could with one hand, she took the rope Brock offered her and knotted it about her waist.

"Try going down backwards," the older boy suggested. Misty nodded, and gripping the rope firmly turned around and began backing down slowly and carefully. As soon as she was out of the opening and fully into the tunnel, Brock also gripped the rope and began backing down, Pikachu on his shoulder.

At first, they traveled in silence. Most of the gravel had slid down when Ash fell, and now the rock was firm beneath their feet. Every so often, one of the two would stumble and slip, but manage to catch themselves on the rope. Then the pit, or tunnel, took a turn and the opening above them vanished, plunging them into complete darkness. Misty froze and Brock backed into her.

"Misty?"

"Pikachupi?"

The red head said nothing. She hated this. She hated this dark, clammy tunnel, which was really more of a pit, with who knows what lurking in it. _Don't think of bugs,_ she told herself. _Whatever you do, don't think of bugs._ Oh great. She tried to force her feet to move. She hated this. Her feet wouldn't budge and her hands seemed frozen in place on the rope.

She forced herself to remember why she was doing this. She was doing it for Ash, stuck at the bottom, maybe hurt or unconscious. He would do the same thing for her in a moment. Then she smiled as she realized how true that was. He would risk, and had risked, anything and everything before to help his friends. She began moving again. This couldn't go on forever. Could it?

At last they reached the point where the tunnel dropped off. Misty tried to set a foot down behind her, but found nothing to set it on. Again she froze.

"Ash?" she called tentatively.

"What is it, Misty?" asked Brock.

"The ground just disappears…"

"Hmm…" The older boy thought for a minute. "Pikachu, how about a little light down there?"

"Pika!" The electric mouse jumped from Brock's shoulder to Misty's and carefully aimed a small bolt of electricity down the opening. For a split second, the tunnel was brightly illuminated, then darkness descended over them again.

"Misty, what did you see?"

"It doesn't go down far. We can jump."

"All right. We're almost out of rope, so untie it from your waist and drop it down. It should be enough to reach the bottom so we can climb back up. Then jump."

Misty nodded and did as he instructed her, then steeling herself for impact, she jumped. She fell, and just when she worried she had badly misjudged the distance, her feet hit the ground. She fell to her knees on a pile of dirt and gravel. "Owww…"

"Pi, pikachu," Pikachu complained.

"Misty? Are you all right?"

"Yeah, just let me move out of the way and you can come." She scrambled to her feet and shuffled off to the side, slipping and sliding on the loose earth. "Okay."

There were some scrabbling noises and a thud as Brock jumped. "Oof. How about some light?"

"Oh, right." Misty took her flashlight from her belt and swept its beam in the direction Brock's voice had come from.

"Ow, not in my eyes."

"Sorry."

Brock also took out his flashlight and clicked it on. "Ash?" he called.

Pikachu began sniffing about on the ground. "Chu, Pikapi, pi pi pikachu!" He began digging.

"Was he here?" asked Misty, her heart pounding. Pikachu nodded and kept digging. "Pika!" he cried triumphantly, holding something aloft.

"That's Ash's poke-belt, and all his poke-balls! He must be around here somewhere. Ash!"

"Quiet, Misty. You don't want to shout too loud. This place might not be very stable."

"Where's Ash?" she demanded.

Brock swept his flashlight around the chamber that enclosed them. "If I know Ash, he wouldn't have wanted to just sit around and wait to be rescued. If he could have moved at all, he would have tried to find a way out on his own. There."

He pointed the flashlight down a wide passage that opened up off the side of the chamber. "And look." In the dirt on the floor of the passage, a single row of footprints could be seen heading off into the darkness.

The walk down the passage seemed interminable. For Misty, it felt like one long nightmare. The footprints disappeared all too soon as the floor of the passage turned from dirt to hard, uneven stone. They noticed other passages branching off to the sides, but Brock firmly ordered that they stick to the main passage, saying that that was the logical thing to do, and was what Ash would have done.

Misty would have liked to argue that Ash didn't always do what other people would consider "logical," but the silence of the tunnel seemed to resent being broken by even the tinniest whisper. It was a tangible sort of silence, and it mingled with the shadows around them, forming a net that pulled them onward. Misty began to dread what they would find at the end of the tunnel, though she told herself she was being silly, that they hadn't yet seen anything to really be afraid of. But when she glanced down at Pikachu she saw that the fur on the pokemon's back was standing on end.

"What's that?"

Brock's voice, coming to her suddenly out of the darkness, made her jump.

"What's what?" she asked nervously.

"That, up ahead." He spoke in nothing more than a harsh whisper, but it grated jarringly against the oppressive silence.

Misty squinted her eyes and peered ahead. At her feet, Pikachu did the same. She could see what Brock was referring to, or maybe couldn't see was a better way of putting it. The tunnel before them seemed to be crawling with shadows, strands of nothing twisting and weaving and winding and twining across their path. An eerie blue light seeped through the cracks.

Pikachu's cheeks sparked ominously, the flashlight in Brock's hand flickered and went out. Misty stood frozen in her tracks. Something long and strong and black that wasn't really there, couldn't really be there, lashed out and struck the useless flashlight still clutched in Brock's hand. It fell to the ground and smashed. Brock jumped back as if stung.

Intruders…

The word hissed through the darkness. Misty, Brock, and Pikachu shrank closer to each other.

"We wanted only the one, yet more of you see fit to disturb us."

"What have you done with Ash?"

Misty couldn't help but notice the slightly panicked note in Brock's voice, and she knew it would be in her own as well, if she tried to speak. But she couldn't speak. If something had happened to Ash… The though made a lump rise in her throat that she couldn't talk over even if she had wanted to.

There was a rustling noise, almost like laughter, and then the soft, echoing voice spoke again. _"Or perhaps they are an unexpected gift, sent to reward us for our patience. Very well,"_ the voice (or was it many voices?) hissed at them. "_You wish to see what has become of the one known as Ash whom you call friend? Than enter and behold!"_

The web of shadows blocking their path slithered apart. Misty suddenly wasn't so sure she wanted to see what lay beyond them. But see she did. Before her lay a cave, a great cavern lit by an eerie blue light that emanated from a softly pulsating lake that filled the cave's center. Every ripple sent hordes of shadows scurrying and flickering about the walls and ceiling. And barely visible, suspended over the center of the glowing lake by misty ropes of midnight-

"Ash!"

"Pikapi!"

Misty rushed forward, only vaguely aware of Picachu and Brock sprinting after her. Ash…

Halt, commanded the rushing voice, and the shadows about them writhed. Pikachu's cheeks sparked ominously. _Do not try to approach the lake or he and we and all of you will fade to our realm, at the bottom of nowhere in the middle of nothing._

"Let him go!" cried Misty, unable to take her eyes off of Ash, hanging limply over the eerie lake.

Now, why would we want to do that, after we took so much trouble to bring him here?

Brock stepped forward to stand beside Misty. "What do you want with him?"

That is none of your concern. We will soon take him with us to our realm beyond reality, and that is all that you need ever know, presuming we do not decide to take you with us as well.

"Pika chuuuuu!" Pikachu released an angry thunderbolt. It struck the ceiling and walls of the cavern, but found no other tangible target. Hissing laughter surrounded them.

Misty felt helpless tears brimming in her eyes. "You have to let him go! He's our friend. If you don't-"

Come, come, that's no way to behave. We are not unreasonable, but you cannot expect us to give you something we value so highly for nothing. No threats can you make that hold any fear for us, nor can your pleas move us.

Something for nothing… A flicker of hope sparked in the back of Misty's heart. She took a step forward. "Does… Does that mean that there's some bargain or trade we could make?"

A sigh echoed around the chamber that Misty took to be an affirmative.

"Be careful, Misty," whispered Brock from behind her. She nodded silently.

"What do you want?"

What are you willing to give?

Misty had a strange feeling that this question had been directed at her alone, and sure enough, as she glanced back at Brock he gave no sign that he had heard. She looked up at Ash. His eyes were closed and his head lolled forward onto his chest. His clothes were torn, and she could just see that his arms were scraped and bruised from the fall. Strands of messy black hair fell over his familiar face. She lowered her gaze to her toes.

"Anything," she whispered.

Excellent…

"What is it you want? Would you take me instead?" She ignored Brock's and Pikachu's shocked gasps.

We would never ask for anything so crude. This is no fairy tale, child. There is something we want that would serve us as well as he would. The shadows around Ash seemed to tighten their grip around him.

"What is it?"

We do not think we will tell you that. If you choose to accept the bargain, we will bring you to a place where you will have the opportunity to fulfill it.

"How can I give you something when I don't even know what you want?"

We do not think you will be able not to.

A hundred reasons why she should not agree to any such thing flashed through Misty's mind. One reason why she should hovered before her.

"What will happen to Ash while I'm looking for… whatever it is?"

We will release him. You will not succeed without him, for he is essential to us, weather free or bound to the realm of shadows.

Misty wasn't sure what all that meant, and wasn't sure she wanted to know. The important thing was that they would let Ash go. She could feel herself trembling. _If you fail, however, both you and he will be taken. If you succeed, both will be free to go. If you accept this bargain, that is the chance you take. If you refuse, we will depart now with your friend, our prize. On this, you have our word, and our word is never false. These are your choices. Now choose._

Misty felt a silence descend around her and envelop her like a dark cloak. She felt as if she were isolated from every one and every thing, a single breath of life in a vast and empty void. In her mind's eye was Ash, bound by shadow over the flickering lake.

"I accept your bargain."

The world suddenly flashed back into view, and she could hear Brock's and Pikachu's astonished exclamations. The surface of the lake trembled, growing brighter, the shadows about them seethed and danced. _So be it!_ cried the voice.

The shadows holding Ash twisted and flung him hard away, then vanished. Misty saw Brock leap to brake his friend's fall before he struck the hard cavern floor, and then everything went dark.

Notes: Shadows of Time lives! It's been what, a year? Two? Ach, I doubt if anyone even remembers this ficcy of mine, but it's back up and running. I didn't stop writing because I had lost interest in Pokemon, or because I had lost interest in the fic. I don't have any good excuse at all; this chapter just took a very, _very_ long time to be finished. My most sincere apologies to anyone who had been reading this before.

I don't know exactly when chapter four will be up, but it will undoubtedly be a shorter wait than it was for chapter three. Then we should start getting into the actual plot. Reviews are wonderful things, and are always welcome. :) Oh, and I still haven't quite decided on which pokemon everyone has with them at the moment. Any suggestions? Requests?

Wydinel Sheergale

UDW


	5. Awakening

Disclaimer: There has been a major scientific break-in! Through! Breakthrough. I am now the sole owner of Pokemon and all things connected with it! Well, no, actually that's completely untrue; I'm not at all. Sorry. Walkmen! (Er, I don't own Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy either, just in case you were wondering.)

****

Chapter Four:

Awakening

Drip… drip… drip…

"Misty…" 

Drip… drip…

"Misty!"

Misty blinked and opened her eyes. An anxious looking Brock swam into view. She sat up groggily. "Brock? What happened? Where's Ash?"

"We all must have passed out. Ash is here. He's still unconscious, but I think he's all right."

Misty looked around. They were still in the cave, but whatever had been in there with them seemed to have gone. The lake was still and dark, the shadows were not writhing across the walls like some tortured beast, and as she looked up she could see several shafts of warm yellow sunlight seeping down from cracks in the ceiling.

"We must have been out all through the night," said Brock, voicing Misty's thoughts. She nodded, then looked over at Ash. He lay on the ground near her, his eyes tight shut, his breathing slow but even. She saw that Brock had taken off his vest and folded it under Ash's head like a pillow. Pikachu had curled up faithfully by his shoulder, but he gave a joyful "Pika!" when he saw that Misty was awake.

Misty smiled wanly back at him. She turned back to Brock, about to ask something else, then paused. Brock was gazing at her intently, a slight frown on his face.

"Brock, what's wrong?"

Brock continued to frown. "Misty, what you did-" He shook his head. "You're taking a huge risk. We don't even know what they want."

Now it was Misty's turn to frown. "Well, what was I supposed to do? I couldn't just leave him hanging there…" she swallowed, not liking the memory, still far to close for comfort. She glared at Brock, arms folded across her chest. "And what would you have done? You wouldn't have-"

"Of course I wouldn't have left him," he interrupted. "I would never do that. But we could have tried something else… Tried to keep them talking longer, or something."

Misty sighed, nodded. Somehow she felt sure that any more talk would have been useless, and even worse would have probably gotten Ash taken away to wherever those things had wanted to take them, but she didn't want to argue with Brock. She supposed he must be feeling even more helpless than she did right now. He had always put himself in the roll of big brother to her and to Ash, and now they had both run headlong into trouble and there was nothing he could have done to protect them.

A slight moan from Ash's direction interrupted her thoughts. Both she and Brock were instantly at his side. Misty watched his face intently, hardly daring to breathe. Oh Ash, please be all right…

His eyelids flickered, then opened, and Misty found herself looking down into a pair of frightened, confused, dark eyes. Relief flooded her, and on Ash's other side, Brock let out a great sigh. Pikachu nuzzled his neck contentedly.

"Wha-" Ash made as if to push himself up on his elbows, winced. Brock placed a hand on his shoulder and gently held him down. "Take it easy, Ash."

Ash looked utterly bewildered. "But- Brock? Misty? Pikachu? I don't understand, how-" He shook his head as if to clear it and looked around at his friends, attempting to make sense of the scene before him. The last things he remembered were following the passage, the strange lake, those horrible shadows, blackness, and then… And then something that did not bear remembering. He shuddered.

"Ash, are you all right?" That was Misty. But Misty shouldn't be here. Neither should Brock or Pikachu, for that matter.

"What happened?" he asked, again trying to sit. This time his body seemed more cooperative, and Brock helped him up.

"When we got back to the cave you were gone, and a part of the floor had caved in," he answered. "We realized what must have happened and followed."

"Pi, pika pikachu pi pi."

"Oh yeah, and Pikachu found your pokeballs. Your belt must have come off when you fell."

Misty wordlessly handed Ash his poke-belt, which he accepted gratefully. Brock continued telling how they had followed Ash's tracks down the tunnel, as Misty did not seem inclined to talk about it. When he came to finding Ash above the lake and Misty's bargain with the shadows, however, he faltered.

"But how did you keep them from taking you?" Ash prompted. Then in a softer voice: "And how did you get me back?"

Brock sighed. "They didn't really seem to want us. We talked with them. Misty made a bargain with them." He took a deep breath. "Ash, she agreed to-"

"To help them find something they want," Misty interrupted, "if they agreed to let you go first. They did. They said I would need your help to find it, anyway." She shot Brock a pleading look, silently begging him not to tell Ash the rest of her bargain. Somehow she couldn't bear the thought of Ash as well as Brock worrying about what would happen to her if they couldn't find whatever it was the shadows wanted. He would most likely blame himself and do something stupid.

Getting back out of the cave proved to be easier than any of the three friends expected. As it turned out, several of the openings in the cavern ceiling were large enough to climb through and easily reached with the help of Ash's Bulbasaur and Bayleef. All three were very glad of this, as none of them felt like enduring the long hike through the dark tunnel to the place where Ash had fallen in and where Brock and Misty had left the rope hanging.

As Bulbasaur's vines lifted him up to the ledge just beneath the largest of the cracks and Ash pulled himself out onto the sun dappled forest floor, Pikachu on his shoulder, Ash couldn't help breathing a huge sigh of relief. He could see the sun, and he could feel the slight breeze that stirred the leaves of the trees. And not long ago, he had felt sure he never would again. An uncontrollable shudder passed through him at the dark memories that again seeped out of the hidden corners of his mind. He shoved them back as Misty and Brock climbed out of the opening. Still in a bit of a daze, he recalled the two pokemon waiting below back into their pokeballs.

In the distance, partly hidden by the trunks of trees, they could see the hump under which they had made their ill-fated camp. It looked harmless enough from where they stood: a pile of grey, moss covered stones in the middle of a perfectly ordinary forest. Ash lowered his eyes to the ground. He would like very much to believe it had all been some horrible nightmare, but he couldn't forget what he had seen or the words the voices had spoken to him as the shadows had closed about him…

It was a silent group that made its way back to the cave to collect their things. Brock led the way, every so often glancing behind him in concern for the other two. Misty seemed lost in her own thoughts, her brow knit in a slight frown. Ash trailed slowly after, his arms wrapped around himself and seeming only partly aware of the world around him. Pikachu walked close by his side, his eyes never leaving his trainer's face.

When the reached the cave, they found everything just as they had left it, with the exception of Togepi and the fruit Brock had found. The little egg pokemon had apparently gotten hungry in their absence and now sat on the rock by Ash's hat chewing happily at a pear, one of the few fruits left. As the companions approached, it gave a happy "Prrrriiiiii!" and went back to nibbling.

Misty laughed and held out her arms. Togepi tossed aside the pear and skipped over to her. Misty caught her up in a tight hug. It was such a relief to behold such a familiar sight after the horrors of the cave, she couldn't help herself. Even Ash managed a smile.

Brock went back into the small cave to gather their backpacks, Ash's hat, and what remained of the fruit, and Ash attempted to shake off his dark mood.

"So, what do we do now?" he asked, as Brock handed him his hat and pack. Brock glanced at Misty, who looked up from Togepi.

Misty sighed. For a whole two minutes she had almost forgotten the predicament they were in. Now the truth, that she hadn't the faintest idea even of where to begin looking for whatever it was the shadows wanted her to find, came crashing back on her. "Well," she began, trying to gather her thoughts, "we're still short on food. How much do we have left?" This question she directed at Brock.

"Exactly one pear, half a walnut, and two of these furry blue things."

Misty winced. "Well, that's not much, but we can get more from those trees of yours before we leave, right?"

Brock scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Well, actually, no, I don't think so."

Misty raised her eyebrows. "Why not?"

"Those trees, well, I can't find them any more."

"What?"

Brock shrugged. "They should have been back that way, over by where we came out, but I looked as we walked back, and I can't find them."

Ash started. "What?"

"I just said, they should be over-"

"Oh, right, sorry. I was just…" he lapsed back into silence.

Misty slung her pack over her shoulder. "Well then, wherever we need to go eventually, we still need supplies. Viridian is probably still closest, or maybe Pallet if we've gone _way_ out of our way-"

"Pallet," interrupted Ash. "We should go to Pallet."

"So," Misty continued, "I say we pick a direction and head in it, and hope we find a path or something soon that will take us there."

Brock and Ash nodded in agreement, and then the three of them stood glancing about at the trees surrounding them on all sides and finding noting familiar enough to use as a landmark.

"Well, which way?" Brock asked.

"Aheh." Misty grinned sheepishly. "You pick."

With an exasperated sigh, Brock selected a direction at random and started off, Ash and Misty behind him.

As they wove their way through the tangled branches and vines, Misty felt her spirits sinking again. _There is something we want that would serve us as well as he_, the shadows had told her. But they had not told her where to look for it, how to find it, or even what it was. Just that if she agreed to their bargain they would bring her to a place where she would "have the opportunity to fulfill it," that they didn't think she would not be able to give them what they wanted, and that Ash was essential to them. She shuddered. And if she failed, they would come and take both her and Ash to- what was it they had said? Their realm at the bottom of nowhere in the middle of nothing.

She felt her hands clenching into fists. How had that become her future in so short a time? And why did Ash always have to land them in situations like this? If he had just stayed asleep, if he hadn't decided to go wandering off down strange dark tunnels, or if _he_ had gone out to get the firewood, then maybe they wouldn't be facing "the bottom of nowhere" and "the middle of nothing" now. No, she wouldn't think like that. They would find whatever it was those creatures (if she could call them creatures) wanted, and then everything would be fine.

As they walked, Misty became aware that Ash had moved up and was now walking close by her side, his eyes cast down at the forest floor. He was close enough that their finger tips were almost brushing. She looked at him curiously. "Ash-"

"Mist," he interrupted softly, his eyes never leaving the ground, "Thank you."

Misty felt all of her dark thoughts evaporate. She had known perfectly well what she was agreeing to down in the cavern, and she wouldn't have it any other way. Deep down, she knew that Ash would not have hesitated to take the same risk for her. They _would_ find what they were looking for, whatever it was. And even if they didn't, a hidden corner of her mind added, at least she would face her fate bravely, and at least she would face it at Ash's side.

They came upon the road very suddenly, and the road they came to was rather more than they had expected. They stepped out from between the trees and were greeted by the rush of wind and tires as a car raced past them on what appeared to be a two lane highway. Ash, Misty, and Brock exchanged glances. This was not what they had expected to find, and it was nothing any of them recognized. With unusual bluntness, Ash stated that he had no clue which direction Pallet lay in. As they were both equally lost and surprised by the discovery of the highway, neither Brock nor Misty made any comments about Ash's lack of any sense of direction, but both agreed that they would have to try and ask some one for directions.

They tried flagging down the next few cars that sped past, but all seemed to be in far too much of a hurry to stop. After they were sprayed with a cloud of dust and exhaust by an enormous truck thundering by on its way to somewhere, the decided to take a break for lunch. They split their one pair, half a walnut, and two furry blue things between them, and were just as hungry when they finished eating as they had been before. Privately, Ash though he was even more hungry, and decided not to make a habit of eating strange, hairy blue fruits unless it was absolutely necessary.

Impelled by hunger, they renewed their efforts to try to get a car to stop. Pikachu tried thundershocking one, but when the driver not only did not stop, but threatened to have them arrested, Ash told him not to try it again. They weren't quite desperate enough to resort to going to prison in order to get a meal yet.

Finally, their efforts paid off and a tan Sedan pulled over to the side of the road. The driver rolled down his window.

"What are you kids doing?" he called out. He was a rather chunky sort of man, with thinning brown hair and permanent frown lines around his mouth. He was scowling at them, and Ash was glad that he was inside of the care and they were out of it. "You pokemon trainers or something?"

They nodded.

The man grunted into his shirt. "Figures. Beats me why some parents think it's all right to let their kits wander around like tramps just 'cause they have some violent, flea ridden creatures with them."

Pikachu began sparking angrily at the cheeks. Ash had told him not to try to stop any more cars by shocking them, but this one was already stopped…

Fortunately for the driver, he seemed to recognize this as a danger sign and held up his hands in apology. "Sorry, sorry, not my place to say, I suppose. What do you kids want?"

Ash hastened to restrain Pikachu as Misty stepped forward. "Well, we're a little lost, and we were wondering-"

The man snorted. "Typical. Go on."

Misty struggled to maintain her temper. Think of food, she told herself, just think of food. "We were wondering if you could tell us the way to Pallet Town."

The man spluttered. "Pallet? Pallet!"

"Or whichever city is closest," added Brock, as Misty and Ash both eyed the driver, bewildered by his strange reaction, Misty looking as if she would like to strangle something.

The driver managed to get himself under control. "You want to go that way," he said, pointing down the road the way he had come. "But listen here, twerps. You think you're so clever, don't you? Going on your little journeys? Oh yeah, real tactful. Great way to show respect. You think you'll have a real cool story to tell folks back home by doing stuff like this? Well, guess what, no one's going to worship the ground you walk on! It's kids like you who're going to end up raking out other people's gutters 'cause you spent all your time being slimy little suck-ups instead of learning to make a living for yourselves. It makes me sick!"

And he stomped on the gas, leaving a stunned Ash, Misty, and Brock in his wake. As his car roared off into the distance they could have sworn they heard a last shout carried towards them on the wind that sounded very much like, "Brats!"

Notes: Ta-da, chapter four! And chapter five is on its way. His one would have been up even sooner, but there were a few plot difficulties I had to work out before I could finish writing it. Now that's all taken care of, maybe you won't have to wait so long for the next bit. Maybe. As usual, a huge thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. Now, to everyone who is reading but not reviewing (I know you're out there!) please do review. It only takes a moment, and any comments of any nature are appreciated. So just click the little review button. :)

Now, those of you who have been wondering what the prologue has to do with the story and what the story has to do with the summary, don't worry! It will begin coming together and making some sense soon, possibly even a bit in the very next chapter. Just hang in there.

Oh, and I just posted another Pokemon related fic under the title of Secrets. It's a short little thing, and has absolutely nothing to do with Shadows of Time (different universe, if you will,) but feel free to read it if you like, and it would make me very happy if you left a review there, as well. I think that's all for now. See you in chapter five, and don't forget to review. (I've said that before, haven't I?)

Wydinel Sheergale

UDW


	6. Trouble With Directions

Disclaimer: If I tell everyone that I own Pokemon, do you think the real owners will give it to me? No, I didn't think so either. I guess that means they still own it and I don't. Oh well. But, hey, Tara, Koji, and Sammy are mine.

****

Chapter Five:

Trouble With Directions

Ash, Misty, and Brock watched the car disappear over the horizon. As if the past two days hadn't been bad enough, now they had been yelled at and insulted by a complete stranger.

Misty glared in the direction the car had driven off in. "What was he even talking about?" she demanded angrily, rounding on Ash and Brock. "All that stuff about tact and respect. We didn't say anything wrong! All we wanted to do was ask directions. So why did he say all that stuff?"

Ash and Brock both shrugged their shoulders, wary of doing anything that would turn Misty's temper towards them.

"Maybe he had a bad experience with a trainer," suggested Brock timidly.

"Well, that's no excuse to be rude to all the rest," grumbled Misty.

Ash shrugged again. "Well, at least he told us which way to go."

Misty muttered something about it probably being the wrong way, but set off walking down the side of the road in the direction the man had pointed anyway. Ash and Brock hastened after her.

A few minutes later, Ash paused. Misty and Brock stopped and looked back at him.

"Ash, what-" Misty began, then broke off. Ash had frozen in his tracks and was hunched over, giggling quietly to himself. Pikachu had leaped off of his shoulder and was now eyeing him warily.

"Are you all right?" Misty asked. Ash shook his head, then nodded, and laughed harder. Misty and Brock exchanged glances. Had it all been too much for him? Had he completely snapped?

Brock took a hesitant step towards him. "Ash, maybe we should take a break here for a minute. We could sit and rest, or if you'd like to lie down?"

Ash shook his head, trying (and failing) to get his laughter under control. "It's just," he finally managed to gasp out between giggles, "no wonder no one wanted to stop for us! I mean," he paused for breath and another laugh, "look at us!" He spread his arms wide.

Misty and Brock stared at him blankly for a moment, and then they too began to chuckle. Ash looked, to put it plainly, a complete mess. His jeans had large holes in both knees, one of his jacket sleeves had nearly ripped off, and his shirt was in tatters. All were covered in dirt. His face and arms and front were scratched and bruised and also covered in dirt and dried blood. His hat was relatively clean, but as the hair sticking out from under it was even messier than usual and still had bits of gravel in it, it did little to improve his image. A glance at herself and at Brock showed Misty that, while they were in far better condition than Ash, they too had dust and grime from the tunnels all over their clothes and hands and faces.

"Oh Ash," she laughed. "I'm so sorry. But we don't really look very respectable, do we?"

"And then with Pikachu trying to shock them-" Ash couldn't finish, as he had doubled over laughing again.

Brock grinned and let himself laugh along with his friends. If their laughter had a slightly hysterical edge to it, he couldn't blame them. Their situation was desperate. He knew it, and so did they. If they could sill laugh now, maybe they would be able to find something to laugh about later, and maybe laughter could in some small way help hold back the clinging shadows they had left so close behind them.

And maybe that was all just wishful thinking, Brock thought; blind hope in the dark. But, he supposed, even groundless hope was something, and with no plan, no idea what to look for or where to look, it might be all they had. So Brock laughed along with his friends, hoping they could gain a little bit of hope and strength of their own simply from his presence and support.

The sun sank low in the sky, and still the weary group of travelers trudged along the road, no sign of a city or town in sight. Ash was now almost positive they were not heading in the direction of Pallet Town and wondered if they had gotten turned around some where and were coming at Viridian city from a different direction. His body still ached from his fall down the hole, especially his left shoulder. He gave his arm an experimental swing, but decided this was a bad idea as pain shot down from his shoulder to his fingertips. He supposed he must have landed on it and twisted it somehow. Ash groaned and wondered just how much longer they would be walking.

He also wondered why he had the distinct impression they were being followed. He had been noticing it for sometime now: a prickling feeling, like eyes on the back of his head. Whenever he glanced over his shoulder he saw nothing, but the sense that someone or something was watching his every move never left.

As the sensation became more and more pronounced, he let himself slowly lag farther behind the others. The sound of his companions' footsteps now fainter, he was almost sure he could hear a slight rustling in the bushes that did not come from the wind. He came to a stop. Misty cast a concerned glance over her shoulder and grabbed Brock's sleeve. They, too, paused, but as Misty made as if to walk back to him, Ash held out a warding hand and she froze.

Trusting that his friends would stay still and wait for him he fixed his gaze intently on the bushes. Nothing moved, and then-

"There!" He dove headfirst into the nearest bush, caught his foot on a low vine and landed hard on his elbows, sending another wave of pain through his arm. Silently, he cursed his clumsiness. Now he had most likely sent whatever had been following them into hiding.

"Vee!"

Ash looked up and found his entire scope of vision taken up by a pair of round, black eyes set in a fuzzy brown face.

"Vee!"

"Ash!" Apparently seeing him disappear into the shrubbery had been too much for Misty, and she and Brock had come running up behind him. "Ash, are you all right?"

"Yeah…" Ash pushed himself to his knees, wincing slightly. He felt even more of an idiot when Misty burst through the bushes and knelt by his side in concern. The eevee hastily backed up several paces.

Misty looked back and forth between them curiously as Brock and Pikachu also came up.

Ash chuckled nervously, hand behind his head. "Er, you don't need to worry, I guess it was just this eevee following us."

Misty raised an eyebrow. "Who's worried? You're the one jumping into bushes. But," she added, "why would an eevee be following us?"

"Vee!"

"Maybe it's hungry." Brock bent down to examine the fluffy brown pokemon.

Ash stood, attempting to brush the newly accumulated dirt and leaves off his pants. It didn't do much good. "But we don't have ant food. That's our problem."

"But I have pokemon food," Brock declared, unslinging his backpack and pulling out a small can of pokemon food. He popped off the lid and tipped a little bit onto the ground in front of the curious eevee. The eevee began happily munching on the pellets, and Brock slung his pack back over his shoulder. "Come on, you guys, we'd better keep going."

Ash and Misty exchanged a glance, then nodded. They could decide what to do next when they made it back to civilization, preferably after they had found something to eat.

The small group of friends continued walking, pausing only occasionally to rest their feet. Cars on the road they followed became more frequent, but none stopped or paid them any mind. The sun passed its zenith and began dipping towards the horizon, painting the landscape, which now consisted of fewer trees and more open, rocky spaces, gold. Their shadows stretched out long to their left and exhaustion began to set in, but none of them felt inclined to stop and camp for the night. As the light grew dimmer, memories of creeping shadows that were still too close for comfort began to resurface, and the three of them instinctively huddled closer to each other as they walked. At one point, Ash felt Misty's arm brush against his, but when this happened she quickly took a step away to the side, muttering an embarrassed apology. Ash very nearly said that he didn't mind, then felt a hot blush sweep across his face and kept his mouth closed. A step or two ahead of them, Brock rolled his eyes. Pikachu nodded in agreement.

At last, just as the sun was beginning to disappear, they came to a hill and began climbing. When they reached the top and looked down, a city spread out before them, and they breathed a collective sigh of relief. But the grins on their faces quickly turned to looks of confusion, and then shock. The city before them was most definitely not Pallet Town, nor was it Viridian City. Even Brock would not have been able to recognize it, had it not been for the sign just in front of them that read, in big, black, bold letters, "**Welcome to Pewter City!**"

xxx

"Tackle attack, Espeon! Tackle attack, now!"

Koji hesitated, watching the scene in the back yard through the screen door. The girl giving the commands stood in the middle of the yard, pointing forcefully at a green and purple plastic lawn chair with a red polka-dotted pillowcase thrown over it; a target, apparently. The espeon sat quietly at her side, eyes and ears fully focused on every action she made, and yet it made absolutely no attempt to obey any of her commands. The girl's younger brother sat under a large rosebush, his hands buried in the dirt. Koji bit his lip. The situation would be awkward, but he could not avoid it forever. And besides, Koji, at the proud age of nine-and-one-quarter, was the oldest one around (not counting the adults, of course), and therefor it was his duty to initiate contact. With a sigh, Koji opened the door and stepped outside.

"Hi, Sammy," he said softly, giving the little boy under the rosebush a small smile and wave. The redheaded toddler glanced up and blinked at Koji with wide eyes, pulled one grubby hand out of the dirt to wave back, then returned to whatever he had been doing. It seemed to involve getting as dirty as possible without damaging the bushes. Koji sighed. That was the easy part done. Now came the hard part.

"Hey, Tara, whatcha doing?"

The girl spun around to face him, black hair swinging around her shoulders, the hem of her dress swinging around her ankles and bare feet. Her eyes widened as they focused on Koji's face. "What are _you_ doing here?"

Don't show that you're nervous… Koji shrugged. "My mom and dad thought we should come down for a little while and… you know… help out. Mom's in the kitchen making dinner. It'll probably be ready soon." He smiled faintly.

Tara narrowed her eyes for a moment, then tossed her hair, turning back to the lavender pokemon waiting patiently at her side and the hideous lawn chair before them. "Well, _I'm_ training Espeon. Espeon, use your psychic attack on our target, now!"

Espeon gazed at her serenely. Nothing happened.

Koji blinked. "I didn't think you even wanted to be a pokemon trainer."

Tara shrugged.

"And any way," Koji went on, "you know that espeon only listens to your father." He knew instantly he shouldn't have said it, and glanced hastily over his shoulder to make sure the younger boy had not heard. Fortunately, Sammy was busy burying his left sock, which seemed to be full of pebbles. He turned back to Tara, who now had her fists clenched at her sides. Time to try to fix his blunder. "Look, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said- It just surprised me, because I thought you didn't want to-"

"What do you know about anything?" Her voice was icy cold; then- "You don't know anything!" She spun around, finger now pointed straight at Koji's chest. "Espeon, tackle attack there, right there! Now!"

Koji almost expected to actually feel the attack. His father had always said that Tara had the tempers of both her parents combined, and now he could see why. She all but crackled with fury. But the attack didn't come. Espeon simply lifted one dainty paw and licked it with a delicate, pink tongue. Tara crumpled in on herself. Her hand dropped, her shoulders slumped, and her head drooped as grief replaced rage. Koji saw helpless tears sparkling in her eyes and knew he had of to fix things.

He felt like giving her a hug, but he knew that in her current state she would probably break his nose if he tried. He would have to try something else, first. Koji took a deep breath, steadied is nerves, and called on all of the natural charm and acting abilities that were his heritage. Then he began.

He stalked towards her a few paces, then paused, arms folded across his chest and glared at her as fiercely as he could. "Well, well, now what do we have here? A little girl and her pokemon!" He paused to dramatically run his fingers through his sandy hair. "I think you had better prepare for trouble, and I think you should make it double!" Koji faithfully went through the entire motto, posing absurdly and even going so far as to alter the pitch of his voice back and forth, high and low, for every other line. He finished with a flourish and gave Tara his best smirk. "Now I think you'd better hand over that espeon, little girl."

Throughout Koji's performance, the tears that had begun trickling down Tara's cheeks had dried. Now she managed a tiny smile. Koji grinned. It was hardly a smile, and certainly not the uncontrollable giggles he would have received before, but it was something. He wagged a finger at her. "Now what are you smiling at? I said hand over that espeon, or I'll have to take it from you."

The hint of a smile was replaced with a mock glare. "Oh no you don't. You'll never take my espeon, Team Rocket!" She knelt and wrapped her arms around Espeon's neck.

"Espe!"

Koji sniggered and started running at them, as if to pounce. "Your espeon will be mine! But," just before reaching them, he clapped a hand to his head and pretended to stumble back. "Oh, no! Espeon used its psychic attack, and I forgot to bring my giant psychic-power nullifying robots with me, so it looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" He collapsed back on the grass, eyes closed. From his position beneath the rosebush, Sammy laughed and clapped.

At the sound of footsteps near his head, Koji opened his eyes. Tara stared down at him. "Koji, you're so weird. But… I'm not mad at you any more." The tiny smile was back.

Koji sat up and gave her his most charming smile. "Good. So, why did you decide you want to train Espeon all of a sudden?"

Koji inwardly smacked himself as her smile faded and she sat down beside him.

"Well… You won't think it's stupid?" Koji shook his head. She paused for a long moment, and Koji wondered if she would continue. Then- "I wanted to use her to use her to go find Mom and Dad! I thought as soon as I got her to obey me, we could leave and look for them, but if she doesn't listen to me, I'll just go by myself!" From the bushes, Sammy gave a little gasp.

Uh oh. Big uh oh. Koji did _not_ want to handle this type of situation. "Um, are you sure that's a good idea?"

Tara's eyes flashed, and Koji knew he had said the wrong thing yet again. "I _knew_ you wouldn't understand!"

"Tara-"

"No! You don't understand! None of you do! I have to find them!"

"Tara, everyone's looking for them real hard. That's why my Mom and Dad came to help. We all miss them a lot, and they're all going to keep looking for them, so I'm sure we'll find them soon. If we go in for dinner-"

"Shut up! You don't know anything! Stop pretending everything's okay!"

"I'm not-"

"It's not okay, so shut up! Everyone keeps acting like everything is normal and okay, but it's not! It's not, and it's not going to be!"

She stood up, fists clenched. Sammy stared at them, his socks forgotten, sniffing quietly.

Koji stood up as well. "Yes it is-"

"You don't get it!" Tara screamed. "You never get it, and nobody gets it! They're looking and looking but they can't find them. They're not going to find them because they can't! They said so! I heard them, and no one is ever going to find them!"

Sammy began to cry softly.

"So I have to find them," she went on, "and I'll go by myself because everyone else is to _stupid_ to understand!"

Koji, panicked, reached out and grabbed her wrist. "Tara, you _can't-_"

She shoved him. Hard. "I'll do what I want," she ground out from between clenched teeth.

Koji landed on his behind, and before he could regain his feet, she had bolted out the gate and down the street at top speed. Espeon gave an agitated bark and shot off after her. Sammy continued to sob, rubbing his eyes with his fists and smearing dirt across his freckled face. Koji glanced from him to the house to the fading forms of Tara and Espeon, and then dashed through the gate after them.

"Tara, wait!"

Behind him, the sun sank below the house, the breeding center, and the tall, grey, buildings of Pewter City.

Notes: Ha! I did it! Another chapter! This is the chapter that I find myself being rather nervous about, it being the chapter where I introduce several OCs. I'm always a bit wary of OCs, particularly when I'm the one writing them. I really hope these three of mine don't bother anyone too much. Next chapter, we'll be getting back to Ash and co.

We are _finally_ getting into the main body of the plot here, and I must say, I'm looking forward to it. We are now entering the part of the story in which all the characters are very confused, but hopefully the readers aren't. Now that I've gotten through just about all of the introduction, stuff can actually start happening. As to what exactly will happen, well, we'll have to wait and see. If I don't get tied up with school, my next update might be relatively soon. Keep your fingers crossed, and, as always, a big huge thanks to everyone who reviewed and a humble request from me for more reviews. It doesn't take all that long, really.

Wydinel Sheergale

UDW


	7. Strange Meetings

Disclaimer: Once upon a time, there was a little girl who owned lots of books and DVDs and videos and a very nice laptop computer, and she loved them all very much. She loved them so much that she liked to take the characters and places from all of those books and DVDs and videos and write stories about them on her laptop computer and post them online, but since she didn't own the characters in the books and DVDs and videos she had to put disclaimers at the tops of all her stories that said really obvious things like "I don't own Pokemon, someone else does" and "I'm just borrowing it for fun." 

_**Chapter Six:**_

_**Strange Meetings**_

"But I don't understand. How could we be at Pewter City? I'm sure we were going south, and it's way too far away anyway."

Seeing nothing else to do, Ash, Misty, and Brock had made their way down the hill to the city the sign labeled as Pewter City and were now picking their way through the suburbs, looking for a pokemon center or some other place where they could sleep and eat for a cheap price, or better, for free. Pikachu dozed on Ash's shoulder, and Togepi had fallen asleep in Misty's backpack some time ago. Brock was leading, but, in all honesty, he had no idea where they were. He couldn't understand how the city had changed so much since his last visit.

At Misty's question, he stopped and pulled the map out of his pocket, examining it in the fading light. "We _were_ going south. None of us are so bad with directions that we can be walking down a highway at sunset and think that we're walking in the complete opposite direction as we are."

Misty sighed in exasperation. "Then we should be in Viridian. I don't know where we were before, but we were south of Pewter."

Ash grabbed one edge of the map from Brock and began examining it closely. "Well, we're in Pewter, and we were heading south, and the only way that could happen would be if we had been somewhere north of Pewter this morning." He gestured vaguely at the mountains at the top of the map.

Brock didn't like being lost in his own hometown, even if it was one of the largest cities in Kanto, and even if he spent hardly any time there. He tugged the map back towards him. "But we weren't anywhere near that far away."

Misty pushed in between the two boys and took her turn studying the map, hands clasped behind her back. "Maybe not, but Ash is right. Somehow, when we… When we got out of the cave this morning," she said in a rush, "we must have been north of Pewter." She lowered her eyes. "They- Those things, they said they would make sure we ended up where we needed to be."

Ash nodded slowly, trying to ignore the chill creeping down his spine. "So they wanted to make sure we went to Pewter. There's something we need to do here."

Brock shook his head. This was all wrong. It had been wrong ever since they ran off of the path to escape Team Rocket, only one day ago, really. "I'm still not convinced this is Pewter City. I don't know… Maybe someone switched the signs or something."

Misty raised one eyebrow. "Switch them from where? Are you saying this is actually Viridian City, and that outside the real Pewter City there'll be a big sign that says welcome to Viridian, or maybe Cerulean? That would be an awful waste of time, for someone to travel all over the country switching the signs outside of all the big cities."

"And what would be the point, anyway?" Ash continued for her. "No one would ever actually believe they had gone to the wrong city. Well," he added, "besides us, I mean."

Brock groaned. "Wherever we are, we've probably set a new world record for being lost. If we're in the city we think we're in, than it's impossible for us to be in it because we were supposed to be heading away from it, but if we're not in the city we think we're in than we don't even know what city we're in." He folded the map and shoved it back in his pocket.

Ash and Misty blinked.

"Er, right," Misty began. "So, why don't we just-"

"W- wait! Please… stop!"

The three friends turned in the direction of the faint, out of breath call. At first, they saw nothing. Then, from around the corner came a young girl, running as fast as her short legs could carry her, an espeon bounding along silently beside her. Trailing behind her, panting for breath, came a boy with sandy brown hair, perhaps a year or two older than the girl. It was the boy, apparently, who had called, for he had a hand reached out, as if reaching to grab the back of the girl's dress, even though she was far out of his reach. "Stop her… please…" he managed to gasp.

Ash reacted purely on instinct. As the little dark haired girl came tearing past, the espeon in tow, he jumped out into the road and tackled her. It only took a few moments for Ash to realize that this may not have been the best course of action. The girl, the top of whose head did not even reach Ash's shoulder, collapsed beneath him with an "oof!" Ash landed on his left arm again, and the girl, who did not seem to like being tackled by a strange boy, shoved an elbow in his stomach. Now it was Ash's turn to gasp for breath as the girl struggled to get out from under him, rather unsuccessfully, as somehow the two of them had gotten rather tangled. The espeon barked angrily, and Ash could hear Misty and Brock above him shouting about something.

"Get off me, you big jerk!" cried the girl, still struggling to get away from Ash and viciously sticking her knees and elbows in the most uncomfortable places.

Ash wrapped an arm around her waist in a futile attempt to keep her still. "Hey, cut it out, would you!"

"Let me go!" She grabbed his hat off his head and hit him with it.

"Would you just- Ow! Just hold still and tell me what's going on!"

"Get off! Get off! Get off!"

"Pika?"

"Espe! Espeon!"

"Ash, maybe you should just-"

"Get off! Get off! GET OFF!"

"Tara!"

A relative quiet descended with the sudden interruption of the new voice. Ash and the girl paused in their struggle, and Ash took her moment of distraction to snatch his hat back. The girl shoved him in the chest, crawled out from under him, although she could not get completely away, as Ash had at some point grabbed her wrist and still maintained a tight hold on it, and sat, pouting. "Now you've done it," she muttered, shooting Ash a dirty glare from under her eyebrows.

"Whew." The boy dropped down to his hands and knees, panting. "Thanks… for catching her…"

Misty blinked. "Um, would someone mind explaining just what is going on?"

Ash shrugged, just as confused as she was. The girl simply continued to stare sulkily at the sidewalk while the boy continued trying to catch his breath. Espeon, however, suddenly gave a joyous yelp and threw itself in Ash's lap, nuzzling his cheek with its furry head and yapping happily all the while.

The girl gasped in surprise. "Espeon, what are you _doing_?" Espeon merely continued rubbing itself against Ash affectionately.

The boy looked up. "That is odd. That Espeon doesn't usually take to strangers."

Ash shrugged uncomfortably. "I dunno, but I'm with Misty. What's going on?"

The boy, who had finally caught his breath, sighed. "Sorry about this. My name's Koji. That's Tara." He nodded his head in the direction of the girl. "We're staying at the P. C. Breading Center. She's… well… a bit upset about something right now and was trying to run away, I guess, and I was supposed to be watching her. So, thanks for stopping her."

Tara shot a bitter glance up at Koji. Misty thought she looked near tears. She didn't think Tara would be thanking them any time soon. She felt strangely sympathetic. She knew from personal experience that having one's attempts to run away thwarted was never a pleasant experience. She knelt down beside the smaller girl and was greeted by a pair of watery blue eyes. There was something very familiar in those eyes… "Hey," she began, as at the same time Tara said, a tiny bit of recognition behind her gaze, "Hey, you look-"

"Wait a sec," Brock interrupted. Everyone shifted to look at him. "P. C. Breeding Center? What the heck is that? I've never heard of any breeding centers anywhere around here!"

Koji laughed. "That's Pewter City Breeding Center. It's kind of famous. You really aren't from around here, are you?"

"No, we're not," Misty answered, before Brock could say anything. "Do you know of somewhere we could stay the night?"

Koji nodded. "Yeah, sure. There's a pokemon center right on the way home, not that far from here, actually, or from the breeding center. We could take you by on our way back."

"Hey, thanks, that would be great." Ash patted Espeon on the head and stood up, wincing slightly, and attempted to pat the dust off his clothes, a rather useless effort, considering the amount of dirt already covering them. Espeon leaned herself against his leg contentedly. Pikachu watched it, head cocked as if trying to figure something out.

"Well," said Koji, taking a reluctant Tara's hand and helping her up, "let's get going. Mom just sent me out to get everyone for dinner and then we never came in. She'll probably be worried."

Ash nodded, a slight smile playing about the corner of his mouth. "Yeah, I know how that is."

They set off, Koji leading, Tara's hand clasped tightly in his. The girl kept her head bowed, refusing to look at any of them, but apparently she had given up on the idea of escape, for the moment at least. Ash, Misty, and Brock followed, hungry, weary in body and mind, but looking forward to bed and food in a dull, relieved sort of way. The Espeon frolicked happily around Ash's legs as they walked. Pikachu tried to engage it in conversation every now and then, but Espeon's responses seemed to make little sense to the small, electric rodent.

ooo 

Jessie stood on her tiptoes and sighed, rooting hopelessly through yet another cabinet. This was what she hated about cooking in someone else's kitchen. She never knew where to find anything. No mater that the man who owned it was a fabulous cook, she didn't know where he kept anything. She should have asked him before he and James went out that morning, but the thought simply hadn't crossed her mind. No, there had been far too much else on her mind recently, and cooking simply didn't take precedence. And she couldn't let her mind start down that track, because then she's start tearing into the spaghetti and the children would be upset…

She sighed, finally giving up on her fruitless search and pouring the sauce over the noodles. She would just have to leave the oregano out this time. Hopefully nobody would really notice. She glanced over at the screen door leading from the kitchen to the back yard. Hadn't she sent Koji out to get the others some time ago? As if in response to her thoughts, a tiny, sobbing, redheaded boy came bursting in through the door and wrapped his grubby arms around her legs with a desperate cry of "Auntie Jess!"

"Sammy! What on earth- Where's your sister? And Koji?"

Whatever answer Sammy might have given was muffled in her skirt and would probably have been unintelligible through the boy's tears anyway. Jessie sat her spoon down on the counter and picked him up in a hug. He buried his face in her shoulder. She had a feeling she would be doing this a lot in the days and weeks to come.

"There now, Sammy, what's wrong?"

Sammy sniffled and mumbled something, most of which Jessie could not understand at all, but the caught the words "sis," "Koji," "Mommy and Daddy," and "gone again," and that, coupled with her son's long absence, was enough for her to figure out what must have happened. Suzie had told her that the girl had already made several attempts at running away. This was undoubtedly the next, and Koji, of course, would have gone after her. She cursed viciously, forgetting the child in her arms and then mentally smacking herself on the head for forgetting.

"Meowth," she called to the cat pokemon who had just ambled into the room wondering what was going on, "keep an eye on dinner and don't let Sammy run off anywhere." She sat the boy down next to the startled pokemon and snatched the keys off the table. "I'm going to go look for Koji and Tara. If James and the others come back, tell them what happened."

"But what _did_ happen?" Meowth asked, too late, as Jessie had already left and slammed the door behind her. He glanced at the little boy standing beside him, his face stained with tears and dirt.

"Sissy ran 'way 'gain," Sammy supplied, and Meowth nodded in understanding.

"Don't worry, kid. They can't have gotten very far. Jess'll find 'em and bring 'em back.

"That's what they said about Mum and Da," Sammy whispered.

Meowth sighed. "Yeah, I know. And they will, kid. They will." A pity he couldn't really even believe his own words any more, he thought, as the spaghetti on the stove bubbled away sluggishly.

Jessie drove through the streets of Pewter City in a back and forth sort of pattern. If Tara was really trying to run away, she would head for the edge of town, so that was the way Jessie went, alibi in a very zig-zaggy fashion. She had no way to be sure just which street the children had taken. Her only comfort was that Koji and that espeon were with the girl. Koji was a sensible boy, and really quite mature for his age, and would undoubtedly attempt to bring Tara home on his own. Espeon, while utterly oblivious to the orders of anyone but her trainer, would never let any serious harm come to the children.

That didn't stop her from worrying, of course. Mothers tended to do that, she supposed, even mothers who used to be agents for notorious criminal organizations. With all that had happened recently, the thought of losing any more of her loved ones was enough to bring the normally strong woman close to tears. She hoped she found them quickly and that when she brought them home James would be back as well. She needed him right now, needed him very much indeed.

ooo 

"There, you just follow that street for three blocks and you'll be at the pokemon center," said Koji, pointing. "There's no way you can miss it."

"Thanks." Ash shook the younger boy's hand.

"No problem. Maybe we'll see you guys around sometime. Are you going to be in Pewter long?"

Ash, Misty and Brock exchanged glances. "We're not sure," said Misty.

Koji shrugged. "Well, anyway, come on Tara, let's go."

The two started walking off, but Tara paused and glanced over her shoulder. "Come on, Espeon."

Espeon turned to her, looking somewhat uncertain, but didn't budge from Ash's side.

"Espeon, come _on_! Why do you want to stay with that jerk anyway?"

Espeon simply rubbed its head against Ash's open hand. Ash peered down at it and scratched behind its ear. "I like you, too, Espeon, but you have to go with your trainer now."

Espeon looked up at him, confused. "Spe?"

"Espeon!" Tara cried, exasperated.

Ash gave the lavender pokemon a little nudge. "Go on, go with her."

Espeon reluctantly trotted over to Tara and Koji, following the two children as they continued down the street, but shooting a last, mournful look at Ash. "Speon…"

Ash and his friends watched the two children and the pokemon walk away for a minute before turning and heading down their own street to the pokemon center.

"That was odd," said Brock after a few moments. "The way that espeon was all over you, Ash."

Ash nodded. "I think it was a girl," he commented, thinking uncomfortably of the number of other female pokemon who seemed to have developed a crush on him at some point or another.

Misty rolled her eyes. "Maybe it just didn't want to go with its own trainer. She seemed like kind of a brat, and definitely to young to have a rare, powerful pokemon like an Espeon."

Ash turned thoughtful. "Really? She reminded me a bit of you, actually." He smiled fondly to himself at memories of his and Misty's early relationship.

"She what?" Misty rounded on him, glaring. Oops, wrong thing to say… "Well, she was right about one thing, Ash Ketchum," Misty went on. "You really can be a jerk sometimes."

Ash waited until he was sure her back was turned to chuckle quietly to himself. He had meant the comparison to Misty to be a compliment for the little girl's spirit, but he wasn't going to tell Misty that.

Koji glanced down at Tara as they walked. He knew she was upset, not only about her failed escape attempt but at Espeon's seeming sudden lack of loyalty to her and, more importantly, to her father. That had surprised Koji as well, if he was going to be honest with himself; it was common knowledge in their little family that that espeon answered only to its trainer. He just wished he knew of some way to cheer Tara up, even if only a little bit, but he could think of nothing.

He was tired from chasing Tara, and it was getting dark, so when a familiar car turned onto the street they were dragging down, he felt sure he had never been quite so happy to see it. He pulled Tara into the pool of light under a street lamp and began waving frantically. "Mom! Mom, we're here!"

The car pulled over, the door opened, and a tall, red haired woman stepped out and ran towards them, leaving the door open behind her. She pulled them both into a hug, one arm around each of them. "Koji, Tara, thank God, I was worried about you. Come on, get in the car and let's go. You can explain what happened later." This last bit was directed at Koji, who nodded. Jessie ran her fingers through her son's hair, partly in acknowledgment, partly to reassure herself she had found him, and then shepherded both children to the car.

Koji sat in the front beside his mother while Tara climbed in the back, not speaking a word to either of them. Espeon hopped in after her. Jessie closed the doors after them, returned to the driver's seat, and they drove off towards the famous Pewter City Breeding Center. The night closed behind them.

ooo

Notes: Well, it's been less than a year since my last update, so I guess, for me, that's a good thing. I hope this chapter is enjoyable. :)

I also people are all right with my portrayal of Team Rocket in this story, even though we haven't seen that much of them yet, and James wasn't even in this chapter. He'll be in the next one, I'm sure, and so will some other familiar people. We'll also probably end up with some fluffy moments between Ash and Misty and Jessie and James. You know, I find it a whole lot easier to write Team Rocket as "good guys" rather than "bad guys," probably because that's ultimately the way I see them. They steal pokemon and cause a whole lot of trouble for our heroes, but whenever it's really important, they end up doing the right thing. I'm glad I decided to work them into this fic. :)

On another note, I hope Koji, Tara, and Sammy aren't bugging anyone too much. I'm rather nervous about writing OCs, probably because I tend not to like reading stories that include them unless they're very well done. So, please review and tell me what you think, even if you just say something like "cool" or "Huh?" Of course, thoughtful comments are greatly appreciated as well. See you next chapter. :)

_Wydinel Sheergale_

_UDW_


	8. Night Lights

Disclaimer: Sigh, these things get wearying after a while. I do not own Pokemon, blah bla blah, bla blah blah blah.

Important Author's Note (PLEASE READ): Ok, I usually save authors notes for the end of the chapter, as I figure that when an update comes along people want to read the story and not my ramblings, however I'm making an exception now to avoid confusion. Yes, I am the same person who has been writing this story from the beginning. I have merely changed my pen name. I'll offer a longer explanation after this chapter, but in short, I changed it because the name Wydinel Sheergale is long, cumbersome, difficult to remember, and difficult to pronounce. Little Red Bat is shorter, simpler, contains words recognizable as being part of the English language, and is hopefully easier to remember (and spell.) I hope I haven't caused anyone too much confusion. Enjoy the chapter. :)

_**Chapter Seven:**_

_**Night Lights**_

The pokemon center, with it's white walls and big red letter P emblazoned across the front, looked like every other of it's kind the three friends had visited in their travels, although this one was obviously new. The small group trudged wearily up the stairs and stepped through the big glass doors into the center's reception area. The Nurse Joy at the desk greeted them politely. It was a sure sign of Brock's worry and exhaustion that his desperate flirting lacked its usual enthusiasm. It was an even surer sign of Misty's that she didn't try to stop him.

They all handed their pokemon over the desk and Ash passed her his pokedex so she could check them in. She gave them all some strange looks, particularly Ash, who she stared at for a long time, but as it was them and not their pokemon in such deplorable condition, she made no comment. Ash glanced blearily around the room as Nurse Joy went through the procedure of checking them in to a room. A pair of older pokemon trainers had draped themselves over a couch in the lounge area, staring at the TV in front of them and paying no attention to Ash and his friends. Ash couldn't see the TV screen, but he could hear the newscaster intoning something about a missing pokemon trainer. It was a story he probably would have been interested in, Ash thought, if he wasn't quite so tired.

Nurse Joy then handed his pokedex back to him with a smile and a room key. "There you go. You can come get your Pokemon in the morning. The room is just down the hall."

Ash nodded and accepted his things, patting Pikachu goodnight on the head, but before the three turned to go, Nurse Joy added, "This must all be hard for you, huh?"

"Huh!" Ash stared at her, wide eyed, bewildered. What did that mean? Did she know what was going on? How could that be possible? He could sense Brock and Misty freezing on either side of him.

Before any of them could say anything, Nurse Joy continued. "Or is it just your parents who are the really big fans?"

Ash simply blinked at her. "Umm…" Now he was just confused. Parents? Fans? What on earth was she talking about? Nothing today had really made sense, he decided. Maybe in the morning the world would be working normally again.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Joys voice interrupted his rather confused thoughts. She beamed at them and waved her hands in a placating manner. "I shouldn't be bothering you all right now. You should all just go take a shower and then head to bed. It looks like you've had quite a day."

The three friends exchanged a glance. She had no idea…

As they walked past the television on the way to their room, Ash glanced at it, wondering if the story about the missing trainer was still on, but it had switched to a commercial had come on. Ash let the story leave his mind. Pokemon training was not without risk, (although most trainers did not have quite the knack for running into trouble and danger as Ash and his friends did,) and it was not totally unheard of for a trainer to occasionally go missing. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that he ought to have made more of an effort to hear what the newscaster had been talking about.

As the walked down the empty hallway towards their room, another odd thought occurred to Ash. This particular Nurse Joy had seemed a bit younger than the Joys he was used to. And had she actually blushed a little at Brock's automatic flirtations?

ooo

Dinner at the house behind the Pewter City Breeding center proved to be an awkward, strained affair. Meowth had very nearly burnt the spaghetti. It would have been ruined beyond all salvation in James had not arrived home and rescued it. Even so, it was certainly not a meal that would win any prizes, by any standards. When Jessie had arrived home with the children, James had caught her up in a crushing embrace, not saying anything, simply holding her close, pressing his face into her hair. Jessie let him hold her; nothing needed to be said. The fear of loosing another member of their mismatched family still weighed heavily on everyone's hearts. She needed the reassurance of his presence as much as he needed it of hers.

Sammy had attempted to throw his arms around his older sister, but Tara had brushed him away, refusing to speak to anyone or make eye contact. Sammy had, of course, burst in to tears again, and although Koji and Meowth had hastened to try to pacify him, their efforts yielded few results.

Then Suzie and her husband, who immediately retreated to his office, had arrived home. Jessie set the table as Suzie took Sammy to play with Ninetails in hopes of calming him down, much to the relief of Koji and Meowth, who had run out of ideas. Koji, in fact, was starting to look rather moist-eyed himself. James made the horrible mistake of attempting to reason with Tara, and nearly got his head shut in the door as a result. He joined Koji and Meowth, and the three of them did their best to stay as far away from everyone else as possible.

When all of them finally sat down at the table together, no one said a word to anyone else. The children all picked at their meals while the adults all tried to pretend they were not doing the same. Finally, they gave it up and Suzie cleared the dishes from the table. James followed after, murmuring something about helping with the washing.

"All right, Koji, Tara, Sammy, up to bed," declared Jessie. Sammy was nodding off over his spaghetti, so Jessie hoisted him onto her hip and carried him to the room he and Koji were sharing for the time being and Koji trailed after her. Tara was staying in the upstairs guest room, alone, except for her father's espeon. They had suggested that she share the spare room downstairs with her brother, but Tara had said that she had always slept upstairs when she came to visit. They had agreed, in the hopes that she would be more comfortable in the familiar room. Sammy had not wanted to sleep in a room by himself, but now that Jessie and James had arrived with Koji, that problem was solved as well.

Jessie, however, still wondered if Tara might be better off sharing the room with her brother and Koji. On the one hand, she could understand how Tara might want, and need, some time alone. On the other hand, it hadn't seemed to do much good so far, if Suzie was not exaggerating the number of times the girl had tried to run away, something Jessie thought highly unlikely. Surly, having the others close by would be some comfort to her as well…

She deposited Sammy in bed, patting his unruly red hair affectionately and pulling a charizard blanket up to his chin. Koji dug some pajamas out of his travel bag, gave her a hug goodnight, and wandered off to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Jessie switched off the lights, but paused before she left the room to collect the night light that she had left sitting on the dresser top earlier. It belonged in Tara's room, and Jessie had only taken it out to change the light bulb. Why she had left it in the boys' room, she wasn't sure, but she supposed she should bring it back upstairs before bed, so she went into the kitchen and had Suzie show her where the spare light bulbs were kept, sent James to say goodnight to his son and his adopted nephew, and then headed upstairs towards Tara's room.

She tapped lightly on the door. "Tara, it's Jessie."

"Go away."

Jessie sighed. So, it was still like that. Oh, any other time her temper would have snapped then and there. It had been a long, stressful day, and she did _not_ feel like being snapped at by bratty children. But for now, she gave it another try. "Tara, please open the door.

No response. Jessie glanced down at the night light in her hand. How old was Tara now? Seven? Surly, alone in someone else's house, with her parents mysteriously missing, she would want her night light back. "I have your night light here."

"I don't want it."

"But I changed the light-"

"I _said_ I _don't want it_!"

Jessie growled, turned on her heel, and stalked off to the room she and James were sleeping in. Obviously, she would be making no progress with her friends' eldest daughter tonight. She would try being nice again in the morning, but she really didn't know how much longer she could put up with tiptoeing around everyone like this. A few more days, she decided, and then it would be her turn to throw a tantrum and scream at everyone. Hopefully, James wouldn't mind too much…

When she reached her room, she realized she still had the unwanted night light in her hand. She looked at it for a long moment. It was shaped like a pikachu and made out of blown glass. When you put a light bulb in it and turned it on, it glowed a cheerful yellow, and looked very much like an actual pikachu charging up. It also reminded her of yet another missing friend. Somehow, Tara's rejection of the little night light, which held such a familiar, and at one time sought after, form, stung Jessie in a way she hadn't expected.

On a sudden impulse, she knelt down in front of the socket beside their bed and plugged the little electric mouse in. She flicked the switch and it's body lit up, giving off a friendly yellow light. This pikachu had no intention of shocking anyone, she thought with a small smile.

When James noticed it, after he had crawled into bed beside her and they had turned off the lights, he blinked at it curiously. "Jessie, what-?"

She leaned back into him. "Please, James?" she whispered, not opening her eyes or turning to look at him. "Just for tonight?"

He tightened his arms around her waist. "Of course, Jess."

Later that night, after everyone had fallen asleep and a light rain began to fall, the little glass pikachu continued to shine softly from its place on the wall, chasing back the shadows with its little light.

ooo

Ash lay in his bed at the pokemon center staring at the bottom of Brock's mattress above him. He couldn't actually see it. The bright sunset had been the precursor for rain clouds, apparently, and now he could hear the soft patter of rain slapping against the window. It wasn't pitch black. Even with the stars and moon covered by clouds, a faint shine from the streetlights filtered in through their blinds. But it was dark enough that he couldn't really see the bottom of the mattress above him.

Ash had not been afraid of the dark for a long time, not since several years before he had started his pokemon journey. A pokemon trainer, who would end up spending many nights camped out alone in the middle of nowhere, had no business being afraid of the dark. It just didn't work. So when Gary had told seven-year-old Ash that babies who jumped at shadows wouldn't be allowed to train pokemon, Ash had decided that he'd better stop being scared of silly little things like the dark, and fast.

He'd asked Gary for help, a rather stupid thing to do, when he thought about it now, and Gary had decided that the best way to cure him of his fear was to lock him in Professor Oak's basement over night without a flashlight. Naturally, this plan had failed spectacularly, and Ash was just luck that the professor had been staying up late working on a research project and had heard Ash's cries and let him out. Gary had first gotten mad at Ash for getting him in trouble with his grandfather, and then had gone back to telling Ash that if he couldn't even handle one night in the dark inside, he would never survive being a pokemon trainer.

Desperate, Ash had decided that the only way he could prove that he was brave enough to be a pokemon trainer was to spend a night out in Viridian Forest by himself. He had packed a blanket and some snacks, deliberately left his flashlight at home, sneaked off to the forest that afternoon, and promptly got lost, and then realized that, in his enthusiasm, he had forgotten to tell even Gary where he was going. Things had gone downhill from there.

The only good thing to come out of Ash's nearly disastrous venture was that sometime afterwards, he realized that the dark didn't really bother him as much as it used to, because, in the end, the dark itself hadn't hurt him.

But now… Ash could still remember the cave, the writhing mass of shadows that had enveloped him, entered him, claimed him, and then… Ash shuddered; the room suddenly felt cold. No, not that… He didn't want to remember that. Ash pressed his palms to his eyes, as if that could help somehow. 'Think of something else,' he told himself, 'anything else. Please…' He listened to the bedsprings squeak in the bed next to his as Misty rolled over again. He wished she was awake, just so he wouldn't be so alone, even though he knew that, after the past few days, she needed sleep just as much as the rest of them. He wished he hadn't left his pokemon, particularly Pikachu, with Nurse Joy tonight, even though he knew they needed a check up. He wished his mind could just stop working, because then he could stop thinking, and if he stopped thinking he would stop remembering. Ash pushed his hands harder against his eyes and tried not to scream.

And then, a small miracle, in the form of a soft voice a few feet to his left: "Ash, are you awake?"

The tiny quaver in the familiar voice snapped Ash's mind out of the dark cave and back to the pokemon center. "Misty?"

"Ash…"

Her voice was barely a whisper, but she sounded scared. Misty hardly ever sounded scared. This was something Ash could simply not allow. His thoughts still hovering somewhere between the past and the present, Ash reacted in the best way his frayed and sleep deprived mind would allow. "Hang on, Misty, I'm coming," he called in a loud whisper. And forgot that the pokemon center beds, unlike his sleeping bag, raised their occupants several feet above the ground.

THUD.

"Ash? Are you ok?"

"Ow. Owowow." Of course he had to land on his left shoulder again. At this rate, he wondered if his arm would still be working at all by lunch time tomorrow.

"Ash?" Now she was worried.

"I'm fine. I just fell out of bed. Ow."

He heard a rustle of sheets and another squeak of bedsprings, then Misty's voice again. "Where are you?"

"I'm here." Keeping his still aching left arm pinned close to his side, he reached out into the darkness with his right hand. He felt the gentle rush of air as something passed it close by, then the brush of another set of fingertips against his own. He stretched forward, feeling the warm, slender hand they belonged to before that hand closed around his own. With a sharp tug, Misty pulled him off of the floor and onto her bed.

They sat there for a minute, catching their breaths, Ash feeling his hand tingling slightly in hers. Then, with a soft sigh, Misty leaned back against the wall. Ash leaned with her, as their hands were still clasped, and her shoulder pushed up against his. Normally, Ash would have been horribly embarrassed by sitting in bed with her like this, but at the moment, he didn't care. She was a firm reminder of the real world, and, at the moment, he wanted that very much.

"I couldn't sleep," she murmured, her mouth very close to his ear.

Ash nodded, then realized she couldn't see him. "Me neither," he said, ignoring the fact that they were both stating the obvious.

"I didn't want to wake you up if you were asleep."

"That's okay, you didn't. I mean, I wasn't. Asleep. But it would have been okay if I was, because you wouldn't have, or I would have wanted you to, or something…" Ash trailed off, aware that he was babbling.

Misty giggled softly. "Oh good." And then, a moment later, "You could have woken me up, too, if I had been asleep, I mean."

"Really?"

Ash felt her nod. "Mm hmm. And I'd have probably hit you with a pillow."

Now it was Ash's turn to chuckle. It didn't matter if their conversation was completely inane. It was taking their mind off of the things they didn't want to think about, and that was what was important. "But what if I was asleep?"

"If you were asleep, how would you wake me up?"

"Maybe I was sleep walking. And then, if you hit me with a pillow and woke me up, wouldn't that, I don't know, be bad, or something?"

"But didn't you just say you didn't mind if I woke you up?"

"Oh. Yeah."

"So, I hit you with a pillow. Then what?"

"Then I wake up. And… Fall on top of you, I guess."

For some reason, they both giggled at that. When their mirth subsided, Misty whispered, "We should probably be quiet. We don't want to wake up Brock."

The both nodded, and managed to sit in silence for a whole half minute, before Ash added, "Or he might hit us with a pillow."

They again broke out into muffled laughter.

"What time is it, anyway?" Ash asked once they had finished.

"I don't know. Let me check." She pulled his hand, which she had not yet let go of, in front of her face. "I can't tell," she said after a pause. "I can't read you watch in the dark." This comment earned another round of giggles.

"We really shouldn't wake up Brock," Ash said a minute later. "He doesn't think we're in Pewter City," he added by way of explanation.

It seemed to make since to Misty, who lowered Ash's hand to her lap and nodded. "You're right. We'll be more quiet."

They lowered their voices to whispers after that and kept their laughter silent. They sat there, huddled side by side on Misty's bed, whispering about this and that, until, somehow, they both finally drifted off to sleep.

In his bunk above Ash's empty bed, Brock lay awake, perfectly still, staring at the sterile, white ceiling of a Pewter City pokemon center that he had never seen, in a city that looked nothing like the Pewter City he remembered. He listened to Ash and Misty's voices as they tried to be quiet in the beds below. He tried to pretend that he wasn't every bit as terrified as they were that this could be one of the last times they would all check into a pokemon center together like this. He wondered what he would do if he never got to hear his younger friends bicker or laugh at stupid things again, if he never got to bicker or laugh with them. Maybe he would simply fall apart. He wondered if he should have found some way to include himself in Misty's perilous bargain, so they could at least all face their fate as a team.

He wished Ash and Misty would be loud enough he could pretend they had woken him up, and then maybe he could hit them with a pillow as Ash had suggested, and maybe a little bit of the light they seemed to have found would spread to him, too. Brock closed his eyes, tried to let his friends' soft voices lull him to sleep. He wished morning would come soon.

Notes: Lots of notes this time, so sit back and relax. Ok, first of all, more on my sudden change of screen name. I've actually been wanting to change it for a while, since shortly after I signed up with ff dot net, in fact, but at first I didn't want to confuse people, then I couldn't think what to change it too, then I just didn't get around to it for a while. As to why _Little Red Bat _as the new name, basically, I like bats a lot. I also love skiing. My ski jacket is red, and my grandfather has, on several occasions, referred to me as a "bat out of hell" while I am wearing it and skiing with him (whatever that's supposed to mean. I choose to take it as a compliment. ) So, that explains the Bat part and the Red part. As for the Little part, _little brown bats_ are a very nice species of bat, and I even had the honor of meeting one when I rescued it from my friend's stove. It very politely crawled into the sour cream container I offered it, then calmly sat in my hand assessing its situation and gathering its bearings before flying off when I brought it outside. Quite an admirable creature, really. ;) My fics at The Pokemon Tower are still posted under the name Wydinel Sheergale. I'll try to get around to changing them to match as soon as possible.

On the subject of The Pokemon Tower, I'd like to give a big, huge, (if somewhat late) thanks to whoever nominated both "Drowning" _and_ "Breathing" for a reader's choice award. Whoever you are, that really made my day, so a big, big, thank you again, and lots of thanks also to everyone who voted for them, whosoever you may be. :)

Now, onto this chapter itself. Ash and Misty's conversation at the end is a little weird. It's supposed to be the sort of conversation you have with your best friend at 3 a.m. while on a sugar high that's hilariously funny at the time, but makes no sense and seems kind of stupid in the morning. Brock came out a bit more angsty than I meant him to be, but you can blame that on him, not me. I tried to cheer him up. He just refused to be cheered. On a similar note, I home that Jessie and James don't seem too wildly out of character (not that we've seen all that much of James, yet.) They are supposed to be older and more grown up (they have a nine year old son, after all,) and presumably are no longer really involved in Team Rocket.

Now, if you made it through all those notes, I commend you. As always, please do review, and I'll see you in the next chapter (or perhaps sooner, with another little one-shot. We'll see.)

_Little Red Bat _(formerly _Wydinel Sheergale_)

_UDW_


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